Walking after meal may be effective in managing type 2 diabetes

Emobileclinic Researchers Corner

 
Walking around following meals has been found useful in the management of type 2 diabetes as it was said to significantly lower blood sugar level in the body according to researchers from University of Otago, New Zealand whose findings was published in the International Journal known as Diabetologia.

It is recommended for people with type 2 diabetes in New Zealand to walk at least 30 minutes on daily basis at any time of the day. However, the team found that walking after meals is better at lowering blood sugar levels than taking a single 30 minute walk at any time of the day.

The study recommended walking to 41 patients with type 2 diabetes in two-week blocks, separated by a month. The patients were monitored with accelerometers to measure their physical activity and devices that monitored their blood sugar every five minutes to walk either for thirty minutes daily as stated in the guidelines, or to walk for 10 minutes after each main meal.

According to Dr Andrew Reynolds, the study discovered that post-meal blood sugar levels decreased by 12 per cent averagely when the participants carried out the walking after meals advice compared to walking at any time of the day. He adds that “most of this effect came from the highly significant 22 per cent reduction in blood sugar when walking after evening meals, which were the most carbohydrate heavy, and were followed by the most sedentary time”.

In his own contribution, Professor Jim Mann explains that post-meal glucose is seen as a significant target in treating type 2 diabetes because of its vital contribution to overall blood sugar control and cardiovascular risk. Professor He writes that “postprandial physical activity may avoid the need for an increased total insulin dose or additional mealtime insulin injections that might otherwise have been prescribed to lower glucose levels after eating. An increase in insulin dose might, in turn, be associated with weight gain in patients with type 2 diabetes, many of whom are already overweight or obese.”
They team in conclusion said that: “the benefits relating to physical activity following meals suggest that current guidelines should be amended to specify post-meal activity, particularly when meals contain a substantial amount of carbohydrate.”

Source
Andrew N. Reynolds (2016): Advice to walk after meals is more effective for lowering postprandial glycaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus than advice that does not specify timing: a randomised crossover study. Diabetologia, doi:10.1007/s00125-016-4085-2.