Exercise

Sedentary behavior worsens insulin resistance and magnifies the post-prandial excursions of glucose and triglycerides. In contrast, exercise improves insulin sensitivity predominantly in the skeletal muscles, and acutely lowers glucose and triglyceride levels in a dose-dependent fashion. A single bout of 90 min of moderate-intensity exercise (walking briskly) within 2 h before or after a meal has been shown to lower post-prandial triglycerides and glucose levels by about 50% ([3] and [38]). A recent study using continuous objective activity monitoring in 173 nondiabetic individuals found that cumulative daily physical activity, even light-intensity activity, was associated in a dose-dependent fashion with lower 2-h post-challenge glucose levels (but not fasting glucose levels) (Fig. 8). The same study showed that cumulative sedentary time was associated with higher 2-h glucose levels (39 G. Healy, D. Dunstan and J. Salmon et al., Objectively measured light-intensity physical activity is independently associated with 2-h plasma glucose, Diabetes Care 30 (2007), pp. 1384–1389. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (26)39).


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Figure 8. Daily Activity Reduces Post-Prandial Glucose
Cumulative daily light-intensity physical activity was inversely associated with post-prandial glucose levels. Data from Healy et al. (39).

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Physical activity improves inflammation directly by lowering post-prandial glucose, and indirectly by reducing excess abdominal fat (39). Studies show that the body will preferentially mobilize and oxidize fatty acids from adipose tissue during exercise after a low glycemic index meal rather than a high glycemic index meal (40). Thus over time lower glycemic index diets combined with regular exercise may be useful for optimizing loss of excess visceral fat ([10], [25] and 40 E. Stevenson, C. Williams, L. Mash, B. Phillips and M. Nute, Influence of high-carbohydrate mixed meals with different glycemic indexes on substrate utilization during subsequent exercise in women, Am J Nutr 84 (2006), pp. 354–360. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (15)[40]).