Acute glycemic and pressure responses of continuous and interval aerobic exercise in patients with type 2 diabetes

Aerobic training has been widely indicated to patients with type 2 diabetes. However, there are still few studies comparing acute glycemic and blood pressure effects of different methods of aerobic training. The aim is to compare glycemic and pressure acute responses of continuous aerobic exercise to interval aerobic exercise in patients with type 2 diabetes.

This study is a randomized, crossover clinical trial. Fourteen patients with type 2 diabetes performed two sessions of aerobic training with different methods (continuous and interval). Continuous session had duration of 35 minutes with intensity of 85-90% of heart rate corresponding to anaerobic threshold (HR_AT), while interval session had 45 minutes, with stimulus in intensity of 85-90% of HR_AT with recovery in intensity under 85% of HR_AT. Capillary glycemia, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were analyzed before and after the sessions.

Patients were 63.5 ± 9.8 years old. Glycemia was reduced in both sessions (p < 0.001). Only glycemia measured at 25 minutes after continuous session was not lower than pre-session values. Systolic blood pressure was also reduced in both sessions (p = 0.010) with similar behavior between them. In the diastolic blood pressure, there were differences only between the values measured immediately after exercise and the values measured 20 minutes (p = 0.002) and 30 minutes after exercise (p = 0.008).

Both continuous and interval aerobic exercise, in a same intensity, are effective for glycemic and pressure acute reductions in individuals with type 2 diabetes. For patients with greater risk of hypertension, we believe that the interval method is safer.