Type 2 Diabetes and Exercise clinical trials

Influence of Moderate Exercise on Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetics and Healthy Controls

Project description Research project title: Influence of moderate exercise on blood glucose in type 2 diabetics and healthy controls. Project description and objective Obesity is so widespread in Denmark that 47% of the population is classed as overweight (BMI>=25) and around 13% of the population is classed as obese (BMI>=30). The strong correlation between obesity and type 2 diabetes (at least 2/3 of type 2 diabetics are overweight) has led to many studies which look at different forms of exercise for this group, because weight loss may improve the diabetes and even defer the onset of the disorder and in doing so lower complications and increase long term survival. For people who do not have type 2 diabetes, the work-induced increased sympathetic activity will lead to suppressed insulin secretion and increased glucagon secretion. This increases the endogenous glucose production from the liver and thus maintains a normal concentration of blood sugar in a physical training situation where the demand for glucose has increased. The theory behind the project is that the mechanisms that help to increase glucose production in the liver during physical activity are weaker in type 2 diabetics, which can cause hypoglycaemia during and after physical exercise. In other words, we want to study the liver's sensitivity to stimulus from physical work by patients with type 2 diabetes and in relevant healthy control subjects. Previous studies have indicated that this type of mechanism is not intact in type 2 diabetics; because the level of insulin does not fall as expected during or after physical training. However, there are no existing studies that measure the liver's glucose secretion using stable isotopes during prolonged moderate physical work. Measuring this will help to clarify our understanding of glucose homeostasis in type 2 diabetics. This study is very relevant, because it may be expected that the preferred form of physical exercise of an overweight type 2 diabetic can be of moderate intensity and previous studies also show that this form of physical exercise delivers health gains in terms of an improvement in insulin sensitivity and a reduction in the level of insulin. The objective of this study is to determine if the level of blood glucose stays constant before, during and after physical training and to examine the liver's ability to secret glucose accordingly.