The effect of bodyweight exercise on 24-h glycemic responses determined by continuous glucose monitoring in healthy inactive adults: a randomized crossover study

• Published in: Scientific reports 2023-11, Vol.13 (1), p.20884-20884, Article 20884
• Main Authors: Babir, Fiona J., Riddell, Michael C., Adamo, Larissa M., Richards, Douglas L., Gibala, Martin J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/443; 631/443/319; Adult; Blood Glucose; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; Body Weight; Cross-Over Studies; Diet; Exercise - physiology; Feasibility studies; Female; Glucose monitoring; Heart rate; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Ingestion; Living conditions; Male; multidisciplinary; Physical training; Postprandial Period - physiology; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Young Adult
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48063-y

Vigorous intermittent exercise can improve indices of glycemia in the 24 h postexercise period in apparently healthy individuals. We examined the effect of a single session of bodyweight exercise (BWE) on glycemic responses using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) under controlled dietary conditions. Healthy inactive adults (n = 27; 8 males, 19 females; age: 23 ± 3 years) completed 2 virtually supervised trials spaced ~ 1 week apart in a randomized, crossover manner. The trials involved an 11-min BWE protocol that consisted of 5 × 1-min bouts performed at a self-selected pace interspersed with 1-min active recovery periods or a non-exercise sitting control period (CON). Mean heart rate during the BWE protocol was 147 ± 14 beats per min (75% of age-predicted maximum). Mean 24 h glucose after BWE and CON was not different (5.0 ± 0.4 vs 5.0 ± 0.5 mM respectively; p = 0.39). There were also no differences between conditions for measures of glycemic variability or the postprandial glucose responses after ingestion of a 75 g glucose drink or lunch, dinner, and breakfast meals. This study demonstrates the feasibility of conducting a remotely supervised BWE intervention using CGM under free-living conditions. Future studies should investigate the effect of repeated sessions of BWE training or responses in people with impaired glycemic control.