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Short periods of high-intensity workouts effective for controlling diabetes

Category: Diabetes

Regular exercise is known to be one of the most effective ways for individuals with diabetes to have healthier blood tests measuring glucose levels. However, many people have a hard time hitting recommendations for weekly physical activity.

To solve this problem, a team of researchers McMaster University tested the effectiveness of exercising for shorter periods of time at higher intensity levels. The results showed that individuals who exercised for 75 minutes at a high intensity level had significantly improved fitness capacity and blood sugar levels.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that individuals exercise for 150 minutes per week. But this can be a relatively burdensome total amount of time. The researchers showed that half that amount of exercise time may be sufficient, as long as the physical activity is of a more vigorous nature.

"Given that the majority of individuals with and without type 2 diabetes do not accumulate sufficient exercise to achieve health benefits, and the most common cited barrier to regular exercise is a lack of time, our results suggest that low-volume high-intensity training may be a viable, time-efficient strategy to improve health in patients with type 2 diabetes," the researchers said.