Aims Aerobic exercise is well recognised as an effective treatment for people with type 2 diabetes but the optimal amount of aerobic exercise to improve glycaemic control remains to be determined. Thus, the aim of this meta-analysis and meta-regression was to assess the impact of volume and intensity of aerobic exercise on glycaemic control. Methods Medline, Cochrane, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched up until 15 December 2020 for the terms “aerobic exercise AND glycaemic control”, “type 2 diabetes AND exercise”, and “exercise AND glycaemic control AND Type 2 diabetes AND randomised control trial”. We included (i) randomised control trials of ≥ 12 weeks, (ii) trials where participants had type 2 diabetes and were aged 18 or over, and (iii) the trial reported HbA1c concentrations pre- and post-intervention. Two reviewers selected studies and extracted data. Data are reported as standardised mean difference (SMD) and publication bias was assessed using funnel plots. Results A total of 5364 original titles were identified. Sixteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. Aerobic exercise reduced HbA1c versus control (SMD = 0.56 (95% CI 0.3–0.82), p < 0.001). There were also significant reductions in BMI (SMD = 0.76 (95% CI 0.25–1.27), p < 0.05). There was no dose–response relationship between improvement in HbA1c and the intensity and volume of the intervention (p > 0.05). Conclusions Twelve-week or longer aerobic exercise programmes improve glycaemic control and BMI in adults with type 2 diabetes. Longer or more intense interventions appear to confer no additional benefit on HbA1c.

This study quantified the physiological and biomechanical effects of the 20 lb (9.07 kg, males) and 14 lb (6.35 kg, females) weighted vest used in CrossFit, and whether they were predisposed to injury. Twenty subjects (10 males, 10 females) undertook walking (0%, 5% and 10% gradient) and running trials in two randomised study visits (weighted vest/no weighted vest). Physiological demand during walking was increased with the vest at 10% but not 5% or 0% with no change in gait variables. In the running trial, the weighted vest increased oxygen uptake (males; females) (þ0.22L/min, p < 0.01; þ0.07 L/min, p < 0.05), heart rate (þ11bpm, p < 0.01; þ11bpm, p < 0.05), carbohydrate oxidation (þ0.6 g/min, p < 0.001; þ0.2 g/min, p < 0.01), and energy expenditure (þ3.8 kJ/min, p < 0.001; þ1.5 kJ/min, p < 0.05) whilst blood lactate was increased only in males (þ0.6 mmol/L, p < 0.05). There was no change in stride length or frequency. Weighted vest training increases physiological stress and carbohydrate oxidation without affecting measured gait parameters.Practitioner summary: We examined the effect of weighted vest training prescribed in CrossFit (20 lb/9.07 kg, males and 14 lb/6.35 kg, females) in a randomised controlled trial. We found that physiological stress is increased in both sexes, although three-fold greater in males, but with no change in biomechanical gait that predisposes to lower-limb injury.