By Colin Kenny, GP, Dromore
In this New Zealand-based study, investigators recognised the benefits of walking in reducing blood glucose levels but wanted to investigate the timing of the walking in relation to food. Forty-one adults with type 2 diabetes participated in this randomised, crossover study for periods of 2 weeks; advice to walk for 30 minutes each day was compared with advice to walk for 10 minutes after each meal.
The study found that when participants walked after meals the level of blood glucose was 12% lower than in those who went for a single walk each day. The improvement was greatest after the evening meal, when carbohydrate consumption tended to be highest. This is also the time of day when people were most likely to be active and the investigators suggested that guidance about physical activity should specify post-meal activity, particularly when meals contain a substantial amount of carbohydrate.
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