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. 2017 Oct 10;5(1):e000428.
doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2017-000428. eCollection 2017.

Stair ascending-descending exercise accelerates the decrease in postprandial hyperglycemia more efficiently than bicycle exercise

Tetsuo Takaishi  1 , Tatsuya Hayashi  2
Affiliations

Stair ascending-descending exercise accelerates the decrease in postprandial hyperglycemia more efficiently than bicycle exercise

Tetsuo Takaishi et al. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. .

Abstract

Objective: Stair climbing-descending exercise (ST-EX) is a convenient method to increase exercise intensity. We compared the acute effect of ST-EX on lowering postprandial hyperglycemia with that of constant bicycle exercise (BI-EX) performed at the same heart rate (HR).

Research design and methods: Seven people with type 2 diabetes and seven with impaired glucose tolerance volunteered for this study. The step rate for ST-EX and work rate for BI-EX were individually determined to correspond to high-moderate to low-vigorous intensity (HR ~130 beats per minute). For the ST-EX trial, the subjects performed 16 repetitions of walking down one flight of stairs followed by climbing up to the starting point (~8 min in duration) 90 min after consuming a test meal. For the BI-EX trial, the subjects performed a constant pedaling exercise for the same duration at the same time after the meal.

Results: The reduction in blood glucose (BG) level between 90 and 105 min after a meal was significantly greater for ST-EX (-4.0±0.7mmol/L) than for BI-EX (-2.7±0.9mmol/L). The net reduction in BG between 90 and 105 min was also significantly greater for ST-EX (-3.2±0.7mmol/L) than for BI-EX (-2.0±0.6mmol/L). Serum insulin levels did not differ between the groups. Oxygen consumption for ST-EX was higher than that for BI-EX, but the blood lactate level and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) for ST-EX were lower than those for BI-EX.

Conclusions: Compared with BI-EX performed at the same HR, ST-EX more rapidly decreased postprandial BG level with lower blood lactate and RER responses. A short bout of ST-EX may be clinically useful to acutely ameliorate BG levels after meals.

Keywords: exercise prescription; muscle glucose uptake; oxygen consumption; postprandial blood glucose.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental protocol for days 2, 3 and 4. On days 2 and 3, subjects performed either ST-EX (16 repetitions) or BI-EX for the same duration starting 90 min after lunch. Blood glucose and insulin levels were measured at 90 min (immediately before starting exercise), 105, 120 and 150 min, and 90, 120 and 150 min after lunch, respectively. On day 4, subjects performed ST-EX and BI-EX in random order with a rest interval of >50 min. Gas analysis was conducted during the steady state of ST-EX (last 8 repetitions, ~4 min) and BI-EX (last 4 min). Blood lactate was measured 1 min after exercise on days 2, 3 and 4. Heart rate was monitored every 5 s during exercise on days 2, 3 and 4. BI-EX, bicycle exercise; bpm, beats per minute; ST-EX, stair climbing–descending exercise.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Changes in BG level during REST, ST-EX and BI-EX trials in the combined (ALL) group. * and ** indicate the presence of significant differences (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively) from REST. † indicates the presence of a significant difference (p< 0.05) from BI-EX. Values are expressed as mean±SD. n=14. (B) Changes in serum insulin (INS) level during REST, ST-EX and BI-EX trials in the combined group. Values are expressed as mean±SE. n=14. BG, blood glucose; BI-EX, bicycle exercise; INS, serun insulin; ST-EX, stair climbing–descending exercise.
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