Diabetes: Just a few minutes of walking after a meal can help you control spikes in glucose, study says

While the benefits of walking are simply unquestionable, its benefits after the meal of the day are obvious. The importance of walking has been passed down for generations. I remember specifically when my grandmother used to ask me to go with her to the little garden we had in the backyard after lunch and even though I wasn’t happy with it, she kept me busy with conversations. her little one. Now I understand what she was trying to do! Thank you ma’am.

A study shed light on this little activity of my grandmother.

A meta-analysis published in the journal Sports Medicine compared the effects of sitting and standing/walking on heart health, insulin, and blood sugar levels.

The study found: “Frequently short interruptions to standing significantly lower postprandial glucose levels compared with prolonged sitting; however, light-intensity walking was found to be representative of physical activity breaks. better,” the study found.

Sedentary lifestyle leads to poor health outcomes


Sedentary behavior (SB) such as prolonged sitting is highly likely to be habitual and associated with poor health outcomes, the study reports and defines it as behavior Waking up expends 1.5 less metabolic tasks equivalent to sitting, lying down, or simply being in a reclining position.

Prolonged sitting is adversely associated with 2-hour glucose, triacylglycerol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which in turn has a negative impact on cardiometabolic health.

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Sedentary rest is the need of the hour


“Any disruption to prolonged sitting can be seen as a period of sedentary rest,” the report said. The frequency of sedentary rest is directly related to metabolic health markers such as 2-hour plasma glucose, triglycerides, and lipometric indices.

According to another study, cited in this study, an average of 10 extra sedentary breaks per day was shown to be beneficial in relation to systolic blood pressure (SBP), HDL cholesterol, insulin, glucose , triglycerides and waist circumference.

What did the research find?


Short periods of standing instead of prolonged sitting have a negative effect on postprandial glucose levels. It also found that light walking reduced the effects of glucose and insulin.

“Short interruptions of standing compared to prolonged sitting significantly reduced postprandial glucose levels in the 1-day acute setting but had no significant effect on postprandial insulin and HAT. decline in glucose and insulin more than with intermittent and prolonged standing, the study found.

Why is this study helpful?


Mini walking is the solution to why many working people choose not to work out. If you ask them why, most of them will answer “it takes a long time”, “makes you tired”, “the fact that only training in the morning leaves us with less range”.

The findings of this study are a solution for such people, who despite having complications such as Diabetes It is impossible to make time for physical activity with all the false beliefs mentioned above.

Aidan Buffey, a graduate student at the University of Limerick in Ireland and author of the paper, considers small walks more practical during the weekdays. “People aren’t going to get up and run on the treadmill or run around the office, but they can have some coffee or even go for a walk in the hallway,” he told the New York Times.