Home      

     

Next

       Back

It has always been a curious affair that some diabetics seem to have a high blood sugar reading when they exercise.  

In a recent pathophysiological original article in Diabetes Care of March 2006, it was suggested that after a moderate intensity exercise, it is preferable for young individual with insulin treated, complication free Type 1 diabetes to engage in a 10 second maximal sprint to acutely oppose a further fall in glycaemia, which would happen if the person had rested.  The addition of a sprint after moderate intensity exercise provides another means to reduce the risk of hypoglycaemia in active individuals with Type 1 diabetes.  The researchers from Perth, Australia have shown that in addition to the well-known effect of exercise in inducing hypoglycaemia, a high intensity exercise in the form of cycling or sprinting can increase blood sugar, lactate, adrenaline, noradrenaline, growth hormone and cortisol, but not insulin or glucagon.  They explain the occurrence of hyperglycaemia after the short burst of exercise on the basis of  the release of hormones causing glyconeogenesis, and the lactate which contributes to the stabilisation of the glycaemic state and hepatic glucose production.

Diabetes Care Vol 29: no 3; March 2006 page 601-606.

In a small randomised cross over trial on men with Type 1 diabetes it was shown that 60 minutes of 25% maximal intensity exercise required a 50% reduction in insulin dose, and 60 minutes of 50% maximum intensity exercise required a 75% reduction in insulin dose.  

The American Diabetes Association recommends that patients with Type 1 diabetes  should avoid exercising for risk of precipitating ketoacidosis if fasting glucose before the physical activity is more than 13.9 mmol/l and if ketosis is present or a blood sugar of 16.7 mmol/l without the presence of ketosis.

Exercise - (Contd)