Acute response of blood glucose to short-term exercise training in patients with type 2 diabetes

It is unclear whether the glucose lowering effects of an exercise session are augmented by training. Therefore, we sought to assess the effects of a four-week exercise training program on the acute response of blood glucose to a single exercise session in patients with T2DM. A Quasi experimental design was used. Thirty-four patients with T2DM (18 males) completed a four-week exercise regime consisting of two 1-h supervised sessions and one 30 min unsupervised home session per week. The sessions contained cardiorespiratory and resistance exercises. Blood glucose was measured prior to and after each training session. Resting heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), body composition, lipid profile and cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) were determined before and after the four week training program. Decreases in blood glucose (pre to post exercise session) over the four weeks were (mean ± SD); week 1: 13.3 ± 18.6%, week 2: 19.7 ± 18.5%, week 3: 18.1 ± 20.8%, week 4: 22.8 ± 17.9%. General linear modelling with repeated measures ANCOVA showed that there was a significant (p < 0.01) time effect over this period. Additionally, there were small, but significant decreases in resting heart rate (−6.6 ± 10.3 bpm, p = 0.001), systolic blood pressure (−5.6 ± 14.9 mm Hg, p = 0.043) and fat mass (−1.6 ± 3.2%, p = 0.024) and an increase in VO2max (1.6 ± 3.7 ml/kg/min, p = 0.025) over the four weeks. Four weeks of exercise training augments the exercise-induced decrease in blood glucose that occurs in a single exercise session.