You should recommend this surprisingly quick workout to your patients with high blood sugar
Key Takeaways
Industry Buzz
“Any movement is better than no movement... We say, ‘sitting is the new smoking.’" — Milica McDowell, DPT, certified exercise physiologist
“The cool part is that this approach may actually be more effective for blood sugar [...] which is super encouraging for people who don’t have time for a big workout." — Jessica DeGore, nutritionist at Dietitian Jess Nutrition LLC
Find more of your peers' perspectives and insights below.
A super quick exercise may help your patients achieve fitness and blood sugar balance, according to a small study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.[]
And it's surprisingly simple: All it requires is consistently interrupting prolonged bouts of sitting with a couple of bodyweight squats.
The study looked at how muscle groups modulate blood sugar response in 18 overweight and obese men (with an average age of 21 years and an average body mass index of 28.8). The participants did one of the following:
They sat uninterrupted for 8.5 hours
They took one 30-minute walk at around 2.49 miles per hour
They sat and took a 3-minute walk at around 2.49 miles per hour
They squatted 10 times every 45 minutes
The researchers looked at the electromyogram patterns of quadriceps, hamstring, and gluteal muscles to determine effect on glycemic control.
The conclusion? Short, frequent walking or squatting breaks were better for glycemic control than a single, longer walk within prolonged sitting. “These superior benefits seem to be associated with increased muscle activity intensity in the targeted muscle groups during frequent transitions from sitting to activity,” the authors explained.[]
How can clinicians use this information to help patients regulate their glucose levels? Here’s what you should know.
Why you should prescribe these types of workouts
“I’m all for simple, doable ways to support blood sugar, and this is such a great example,” says Jessica DeGore, a nutritionist at Dietitian Jess Nutrition LLC. “The cool part is that this approach may actually be more effective for blood sugar than one longer walk, which is super encouraging for people who don’t have time for a big workout. It’s about finding what feels sustainable for you and sticking with it.”
Milica McDowell, DPT, a certified exercise physiologist and VP of Operations at Gait Happens, says that it’s important to remember that the study was limited to just 18 male subjects. But “any movement is better than no movement. In the medical community, we say ‘sitting is the new smoking,’ from the perspective that sitting can be nearly as bad for you as other unhealthy lifestyle choices.”
Tips for the clinic
Dr. McDowell adds that even small studies like this one contribute to the medical community's ability to support our recommendations with scientific evidence. “A medical pro could relay these findings to a patient in the following way: ‘If you break up sitting, it's better for your blood glucose control. This study shows that you can do as little as a set of squats every 45 minutes, rather than a more prolonged activity like a 30-minute walk, to help control your blood sugar.’”
Lead study author Gao Ying, PhD, tells MDLinx,“We were both surprised and excited by our findings. The discovery that different muscle activity patterns led to significantly different glycemic responses, even when energy expenditure was matched, was quite revealing.” Dr. Ying says the study’s findings challenged the assumption that total energy expenditure alone determines metabolic outcomes.
"Short, frequent muscle-activating movements during prolonged sitting periods can serve as a practical strategy to support glycemic control."
— Gao Ying, PhD
“Healthcare providers might consider recommending brief activity breaks, even just 3 minutes, every 45 minutes to their patients who have sedentary jobs or lifestyles,” Dr. Ying notes.
Dr. Ying adds that for patients who are unable to perform bodyweight squats due to injury, there are plenty of alternatives that engage large muscle groups: seated leg extensions or marching in place while seated; standing calf raises or gentle knee lifts; chair-assisted partial squats (using the chair for support); and upper body stretches that engage the core muscles.
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