Postprandial glucose response moderation by cardiorespiratory fitness following short exercise bouts

A single one-minute, comfortable paced, stair-climbing bout reduces postprandial glucose following a mixed meal

“…People perceived 1 and 3 min of stairstepping as very light and light activity respectively while objective measures confirmed that intensities were moderate [10]. These stairclimbing bouts were also found to be equally effective at reducing PBG for both sexes and all levels of cardiorespiratory fitness [15,16]. This highlights short, single-bout stair stepping as a simple, convenient, cheap, and effective form of activity to mitigate postprandial glucose responses.…”

Daily stair climbing is associated with decreased risk for the metabolic syndrome

“…That being said, that we still find an association even with this simple measure suggests that the impact of stair climbing is considerable, and opens up the field for further research into aspects such as dose-response relationships. This is supported by recent research showing that even subjectively-reported ‘light’ and short bouts of stair climbing can affect the metabolic response to a meal [ 24 ], and this response is not influenced by underlying cardio-respiratory fitness [ 28 ]. This also draws attention to the possible attenuation of the post-prandial glucose peak which may be one plausible mechanism by which stair climbing helps reduce the risk of MetS.…”

Three minutes of moderate-intensity stair walking improves glucose and insulin but not insulin sensitivity or total antioxidant capacity

“…Moderate intensity has been used as a descriptor for these bouts throughout the manuscript. These bouts are also without sex differences or moderation by cardiorespiratory fitness levels [16,17]. The effect of these short, single bouts on insulin, TAC, and blood lactate are unknown.…”