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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Randomized Controlled Trial to Study the Acute Effects of Strength Exercise on Insulin Sensitivity in Obese Adults
Published on: December 1, 2023
Exercise Snacks Are Feasible to Perform in the Real World and Improve Physical Capacity for Adults Living With
Fiona J Babir1, Alexis Marcotte-Chénard2,3, Roderick E Sandilands2
1Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Aims:
To investigate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 12-week remotely-delivered exercise snacks (ES) intervention in adults with type 2 diabetes.
Material And Methods:
Insufficiently active adults with type 2 diabetes (N = 69; 46 females; mean age ± SD: 58 ± 11 years) were randomised to an ES or mobility/stretching comparator group (CON), which involved 4 × 1-min bouts of either vigorous or low intensity exercise, respectively, on ≥ 5 days/week. The primary outcome was feasibility based on adherence. Secondary outcomes included exercise enjoyment (1-7 scale), rating of perceived exertion (RPE; 0-10 scale), heart rate (HR), haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood biomarkers of cardiometabolic health, 30-s sit-to-stand capacity, grip strength, estimated maximal oxygen uptake, and anthropometrics.
Results:
Weekly adherence (estimated marginal mean [95% confidence interval]: 18 bouts [16-21] for both groups; p = 0.99) and total enjoyment (ES: 4.5 [4.1-4.8] vs. CON: 4.3 [4.0-4.7]; p = 0.64) were high and not different between groups. Despite higher RPE (5.7 [5.4-6.1]) and peak HR (73 [70-77] % of age-predicted HR maximum) in ES versus CON (2.0 [1.7-2.4] and 61 [58-64] % of age-predicted HR maximum, respectively) (all p < 0.001), there were no between-group differences in the change in any secondary outcome (all p > 0.05) except for greater sit-to-stand capacity in ES after training (between-group effect estimate [95% confidence interval]: 1.9 repetitions [0.3-3.4]; p = 0.02).
Conclusions:
Exercise snacks were feasible to perform in the real world and improved sit-to-stand capacity to a greater extent than CON in adults living with type 2 diabetes.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06407245.
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