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Published on: June 11, 2012
Exercise snacks to combat hyperglycaemia in patients with abnormal glycaemic control: Use of a novel strategy based
Katharina Gross1, Klara Rinne1, Anne Braun1
1Department of Preventive and Rehabilitative Sport Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sport Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
Aim:
To investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)-guided exercise snacks (ES) to reduce time in individual hyperglycaemia in individuals with abnormal glycaemic control in a real-world setting.
Methods:
Twenty-five participants (56 ± 10 years; HbA1c ≥ 5.7%) underwent four consecutive 3-day experimental periods separated by 4-day washout periods. They were instructed to continue their daily living under the following conditions: (a) without exercise (CONTROL), (b) performing ES whenever individualised CGM-derived hyperglycaemia alarms occurred (CGM-ES), (c) performing the same number of ES at fixed times without CGM (NON-CGM-ES), and (d) performing a once-daily long exercise session (cumulative ES time) (SINGLE-EX).
Results:
Time spent in individual hyperglycaemia over 72 h differed significantly between experimental conditions (p < 0.001). It was reduced by approximately one third in both CGM-ES and NON-CGM-ES compared with CONTROL or SINGLE-EX. Adherence was high: 85% (CGM-ES), 88% (NON-CGM-ES), and 93% (SINGLE-EX). Intentions to continue CGM-ES, NON-CGM-ES, and SINGLE-EX differed significantly (p = 0.042), with CGM-ES and SINGLE-EX showing the highest mean scores on the 5-point Likert scale.
Conclusions:
The results suggest that regular ES reduce time in individual hyperglycaemia more effectively than a single long exercise session. CGM-ES may enhance motivation and facilitate rapid attenuation of hyperglycaemia in a real-world setting.
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