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Post-meal walks may prevent type 2 diabetes in elderly
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A new study indicates that walking for 15 minutes after every meal could regulate glucose levels and reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes in the elderly.
“These findings are good news for people in their 70s and 80s who may feel more capable of engaging in intermittent physically activity on a daily basis,” Loretta DiPietro, PhD, MPH, study author and chair of the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services department of exercise science, said in a press release. “Let the food digest a bit and then get out and move.”
The study was designed to determine whether three 15-minute post-meal walks or one 45-minute morning or afternoon walk was more effective in regulating blood sugar in inactive participants aged 60 years or older. All participants were at risk for glucose intolerance based on their fasting glucose concentration of 105-125 mg dL-1.
“Timing of exercise exposure – as well as volume – is an important element to consider with regard to treating those older people vulnerable to postprandial hyperglycemia, especially later in the day,” researchers wrote.
Participants walked on a treadmill for 15 minutes after each meal or for 45 minutes at either 10:30 in the morning or 4:30 in the afternoon. Although both the 15-minute and the 45-minute walks were equally as effective in improving 24-hour glycemic control (P<.05), post-meal exercise was most effective in lowering 3-hour post-dinner glucose levels (P<.01).
“Improvements in 24-hour glucose values were strongly correlated with improvements in 3-hour post-dinner values, suggesting that an after-dinner walk may have the greatest relative benefits for overall daily glucose homeostasis,” they wrote.
Disclosure: DiPietro and colleagues report no relevant financial disclosures.
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