Benefits for Type 2 Diabetes of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting With Brief Bouts of Light Walking or Simple Resistance Activities

TLDR

The study aimed to assess whether interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light walking or simple resistance activities reduces postprandial cardiometabolic risk markers in adults with type 2 diabetes. In a randomized crossover trial, 24 inactive overweight/obese adults with type 2 diabetes underwent three 8‑hour conditions—uninterrupted sitting, sitting plus 3‑minute light‑walking bouts every 30 minutes, and sitting plus 3‑minute resistance‑activity bouts every 30 minutes—while consuming standardized meals and having incremental areas under the curve for glucose, insulin, C‑peptide, and triglycerides measured. Both activity‑break protocols significantly lowered the incremental area under the curve for glucose, insulin, and C‑peptide, and the resistance‑activity protocol also reduced triglyceride responses, indicating that brief interruptions of sitting can attenuate acute postprandial cardiometabolic markers in type 2 diabetes and may provide a practical alternative to structured exercise.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine whether interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light-intensity walking (LW) or simple resistance activities (SRA) improves postprandial cardiometabolic risk markers in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a randomized crossover trial, 24 inactive overweight/obese adults with T2D (14 men 62 ± 6 years old) underwent the following 8-h conditions on three separate days (with 6–14 days washout): uninterrupted sitting (control) (SIT), sitting plus 3-min bouts of LW (3.2 km · h−1) every 30 min, and sitting plus 3-min bouts of SRA (half-squats, calf raises, gluteal contractions, and knee raises) every 30 min. Standardized meals were consumed during each condition. Incremental areas under the curve (iAUCs) for glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and triglycerides were compared between conditions. RESULTS Compared with SIT, both activity-break conditions significantly attenuated iAUCs for glucose (SIT mean 24.2 mmol · h · L−1 [95% CI 20.4–28.0] vs. LW 14.8 [11.0–18.6] and SRA 14.7 [10.9–18.5]), insulin (SIT 3,293 pmol · h · L−1 [2,887–3,700] vs. LW 2,104 [1,696–2,511] and SRA 2,066 [1,660–2,473]), and C-peptide (SIT 15,641 pmol · h · L−1 [14,353–16,929] vs. LW 11,504 [10,209–12,799] and SRA 11,012 [9,723–12,301]) (all P < 0.001). The iAUC for triglycerides was significantly attenuated for SRA (P < 0.001) but not for LW (SIT 4.8 mmol · h · L−1 [3.6–6.0] vs. LW 4.0 [2.8–5.1] and SRA 2.9 [1.7–4.1]). CONCLUSIONS Interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of LW or SRA attenuates acute postprandial glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and triglyceride responses in adults with T2D. With poor adherence to structured exercise, this approach is potentially beneficial and practical.