Body-weight functional exercise promotes greater and safer blood glucose reduction compared to aerobic and strength exercises in type 1 diabetics: a randomised crossover study.

AIMS

Aerobic and strength exercises are commonly recommended for patients with type-1 diabetes (T1DM) but may not suit everyone. Body-weight functional exercise (BWFE) could offer an alternative for diabetes management. We aimed to compare blood glucose (BG), cardiovascular responses and enjoyment levels following a 30-min session of BWFE versus interval aerobic exercise (IAE) and strength exercise (STE) in patients with T1DM.

METHODS

Ten T1DM participants (seven female) completed three randomised exercise sessions. BG, heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and double product (DP) were measured before (PRE), immediately after (POST-0) and 20 min post-exercise (POST-20). Maximum and average HR were recorded, and enjoyment levels (EL) were assessed post-exercise. Statistical analysis used generalised estimated equations, with minimal detectable difference for assessing clinical significance.

RESULTS

We observed clinically meaningful reductions in BG after all sessions, but only BWFE showed a statistically significant drop at POST-0 (-2.2 mmol/L) without hypoglycaemia. HR, BP and DP responses were similar across sessions. BWFE showed the highest EL and maximal HR.

CONCLUSIONS

BWFE effectively lowered BG safely and provided comparable cardiovascular effects to IAE and STE while being more enjoyable. These findings support incorporating functional exercises into T1DM management to encourage sustained physical activity.