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.

Soltani, Pooya; Almeida, Fernanda Mendes; Melo, Hildene Carneiro de Castro; Ferreira, Guilherme Bruno Santiago; Dos Santos, Leiticiany Melo; Gomes, Jorge Luiz de Brito

Abstract

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. 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 20min 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. We observed clinically meaningful reductions in BG after all sessions, but only BWFE showed a statistically significant drop at POST-0 (-2.2mmol/L) without hypoglycaemia. HR, BP and DP responses were similar across sessions. BWFE showed the highest EL and maximal HR. 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. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.]

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 16, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Apr 19, 2025
• Deposit Date: Apr 21, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 23, 2025
• Journal: Journal of diabetes and its complications
• Print ISSN: 1056-8727
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 7
• Article Number: 109043
• Pages: 109043
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2025.109043
• Keywords: Blood pressure, Motivation, Diabetes mellitus, Hypoglycaemia, Blood glucose, Heart rate