Interval walking healthier than continuous walking for diabetics

A new research has demonstrated that training with alternating levels of walking intensity i.e. interval training can be better than walking at a continuous speed that will ultimately help manage blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.

The research conducted by Dr Thomas Solomon, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues showed that effects of exercise on blood sugar (glycaemic) control in individuals with type 2 diabetes were well documented but the optimal exercise intensity and type remained to be defined.

The researchers found that improved blood sugar control was only evident in the interval-walking training (IWT), group, and this was likely to be caused by IWT-induced increased in insulin sensitivity and increased peripheral glucose disposal, indicative of improved glucose metabolism No changes occurred in the continuous-walking training (CWT) or CON groups.

The authors asserted that the most important finding of this study was that IWT, but not CWT, increased insulin sensitivity without a compensatory decrease in insulin secretion, which improvied the overall impact of insulin on blood sugar in these patients.

The study is published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes).