Experts publish exercise guidelines for type 1 diabetes patients

An international team of 21 researchers led by York University in Toronto has published a set of guidelines for people with type 1 diabetes outlining how they can avoid fluctuations in blood sugar.

Michael Riddell, a health professor at York, said this is the first set of consensus guidelines for type 1 diabetes patients created by experts in the field. The guidelines are published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

"Regular exercise can help individuals with diabetes to achieve their blood lipid, body composition, fitness and blood sugar goals, but for people living with type 1 diabetes, the fear of hypoglycemia, loss of glycemic control, and inadequate knowledge around exercise management are major barriers," Riddell said in a statement. “This is a big struggle for both type 1 diabetes patients and their healthcare providers.”

Diabetic patients have to monitor their blood glucose levels before, during and after exercise to ensure they don’t enter danger zones that could put them at risk for passing out and other related events. In the study, the authors note that they saw a need for the guidelines because the majority of people with type 1 diabetes are overweight or obese.

The guidelines call for aerobic exercises like walking, jogging and light cycles. They advise avoiding anaerobic exercises like sprinting, heavy weight lifting and interval sports because they can increase glucose levels.

"Regular exercise helps patients achieve a number of goals. In pediatric patients in particular, it reduces the cardiovascular disease risk profile, improves the sense of well-being and brings down average blood glucose levels,” Riddell said.