Performing brief bouts of moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise throughout the day reduces time spent in hyperglycaemia when compared with performing one cumulative exercise session or inactivity, as shown in a study.
The percentage of time spent above individual hyperglycaemic thresholds over 72 h was reduced by about one-third during the exercise snack intervention periods—wherein 6-min bouts of moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise were performed whenever individualized continuous glucose monitor (CGM)-derived hyperglycaemia alarms occurred (CGM-ES) or performed at fixed times without CGM (NON-CGM-ES)—compared with the no-exercise control period: –32.3 percent (p=0.037) and –33.9 percent (p=0.026), respectively. [Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2026;238:113374]
Similar results were observed when the percentage of time spent above individual hyperglycaemic thresholds were compared between the exercise snack intervention periods and the single exercise period, wherein a long exercise session was performed daily. The corresponding differences were –33.9 percent (p=0.026) and −35.4 percent (p=0.019), respectively.
The number of individual hyperglycaemic excursions was lowest during the CGM-ES period and differed significantly from that recorded during the single exercise period (p=0.011).
Time in individual hyperglycaemia and number of individual hyperglycaemic excursions did not differ significantly between the CGM-ES and the NON-CGM-ES periods or between the no-exercise control and the single exercise periods.
“This trial provides important real-word evidence for glucose-lowering effects of exercise snacks under free-living conditions,” the investigators said.
“Lack of time is one of the most commonly stated reasons not to exercise. Therefore, brief bouts of intermittent physical activity, which require considerably less time, may be easier to implement in everyday life,” they continued.
In the cohort, adherence to the exercise interventions was high—85.3 percent in the CGM-ES period, 87.6 percent in the NON-CGM-ES, and 93.3 percent in the single exercise period—despite being performed in a free-living environment without supervision.
“Contrary to our hypothesis, CGM-guided exercise snacks showed no physiological superiority over scheduled exercise snacks in reducing hyperglycaemia,” the investigators noted.
“Our data does not allow definitive conclusions on CGM-ES vs NON-CGM-ES, as NON-CGM-ES may have coincidentally been performed within 120 min of rising glucose levels. Therefore, using CGM to time exercise snacks remains an interesting area for future research,” they said.
The study included 25 adults (mean age 56 years, 52 percent male, mean BMI 29.7 kg/m2) with abnormal glycaemic control (HbA1c ≥5.7 percent) or self-reported diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Participants underwent all four interventions, with each intervention lasting 3 days, separated by 4-day washout periods.