The Acute and Residual Effect of a Single Exercise Session on Meal Glucose Tolerance in Sedentary Young Adults

Abstract

The study goals were to (1) establish the variability in postprandial glucose control in healthy young people consuming a mixed meal and, then (2) determine the acute and residual impact of a single exercise bout on postprandial glucose control. In study 1, 18 people completed two similar mixed meal trials and an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). There were strong test-retest correlations for the post-meal area under the curve (AUC) for glucose, insulin, and Cpeptide (r = 0.73–0.83) and the Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISI, r = 0.76), and between meal and IVGTT-derived ISI (r = 0.83). In study 2, 11 untrained young adults completed 3 trials. One trial (No Ex) was completed after refraining from vigorous activity for ≥3 days. On the other 2 trials, a 45-min aerobic exercise bout was performed either 17-hours (Prior Day Ex) or 1-hour (Same Day Ex) before consuming the test meal. Compared to No Ex and Prior Day Ex, which did not differ from one another, there were lower AUCs on the Same Day Ex trial for glucose (6%), insulin (20%) and C-peptide (14%). Thus, a single moderate intensity exercise session can acutely improve glycemic control but the effect is modest and short-lived.

Almond "Appetizer" Effect on Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) Results

“…Lower carbohydrate intake before a GTT tends to produce higher values on the test 20 because insulin production tends to decrease when carbohydrate intake is lower. More physical activity 21 and lower perceived stress 22 tend to produce lower GTT values.…”

Intermittent walking, but not standing, improves postprandial insulin and glucose relative to sustained sitting: A randomised cross-over study in inactive middle-aged men

“…Short et al 20 and a test-retest correlation of 0.8 for repeated measurements with a coefficient of variation of 20%. Based on these values it was calculated that a sample of a minimum of 19 participants would be required for 90% power to detect a 5% difference (Cohen's d = 0.4, deemed a small-to-moderate effect) in Matsuda index between interventions at the 5% significance level.…”

Adding to the spectrum of insulin sensitive populations for mixed meal tolerance test glucose reliability assessment

“…While Short et al previously reported high MMTT reproducibility of a liquid test meal administered to healthy subjects [3], we employed the same test meal and operational techniques as the FNIH [1]. Since increasing study number observations can improve ICC precision [4], four men were recruited to undergo five-serial MMTTs over the course of one week.…”