Extremely short duration interval exercise improves 24-h glycaemia in men with type 2 diabetes

Reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training (REHIT) is a genuinely time-efficient exercise intervention that improves aerobic capacity and blood pressure in men with type 2 diabetes. However, the acute effects of REHIT on 24-h glycaemia have not been examined.

11 men with type 2 diabetes (mean ± SD: age, 52 ± 6 years; BMI, 29.7 ± 3.1 kg/m²; HbA_1c, 7.0 ± 0.8%) participated in a randomised, four-trial crossover study, with continual interstitial glucose measurements captured during a 24-h dietary-standardised period following either (1) no exercise (CON); (2) 30 min of continuous exercise (MICT); (3) 10 × 1 min at ~ 90 HR_max (HIIT; time commitment, ~ 25 min); and (4) 2 × 20 s 'all-out' sprints (REHIT; time commitment, 10 min).

Compared to CON, mean 24-h glucose was lower following REHIT (mean ± 95%CI: - 0.58 ± 0.41 mmol/L, p = 0.008, d = 0.55) and tended to be lower with MICT (- 0.37 ± 0.41 mmol/L, p = 0.08, d = 0.35), but was not significantly altered following HIIT (- 0.37 ± 0.59 mmol/L, p = 0.31, d = 0.35). This seemed to be largely driven by a lower glycaemic response (area under the curve) to dinner following both REHIT and MICT (- 11%, p < 0.05 and d > 0.9 for both) but not HIIT (- 4%, p = 0.22, d = 0.38). Time in hyperglycaemia appeared to be reduced with all three exercise conditions compared with CON (REHIT: - 112 ± 63 min, p = 0.002, d = 0.50; MICT: -115 ± 127 min, p = 0.08, d = 0.50; HIIT - 125 ± 122 min, p = 0.04, d = 0.54), whilst indices of glycaemic variability were not significantly altered.

REHIT may offer a genuinely time-efficient exercise option for improving 24-h glycaemia in men with type 2 diabetes and warrants further study.