title: Stair climbing/descending exercise for a short time decreases blood glucose levels after a meal in people with type 2 diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined whether stair climbing-descending exercise (ST-EX), a convenient method to increase physical activity in daily life, for a short period would acutely improve the postprandial blood glucose (BG) response in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
  
  
  METHODS
  16 people with T2D (age 65.4±1.1 years) participated in 2 separate sessions. After an overnight fast, each participant consumed a test meal and then kept resting for 180 min, except when performing each 3 min bout of ST-EX at 60 and 120 min after the meal (ST-EX session), or kept resting for 180 min (REST session). ST-EX comprised 6 continuous repetitions of climbing to the second floor (21 steps) at a rate of 80-110 steps/min followed by walking down slowly to the first floor at a free step rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The BG at 60 min after the meal during the ST-EX session (immediately before the first ST-EX) did not differ from that during the REST session, but analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between time and treatment (p<0.01). The BG at 150 min after the meal (30 min after the second ST-EX) was significantly lower than that during the REST session (p<0.01). The area under the curve was also 18% lower during the ST-EX session than during the REST session (p<0.05). The heart rate and blood lactate levels indicated that the actual intensity of ST-EX was 'hard'. In contrast, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) indicated that the overall intensity of ST-EX was 'moderate' because of decreased RPE scores during descent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings suggest that performing 3 min ST-EX 60 and 120 min after a meal may be a useful strategy to accelerate the decrease in postprandial BG levels in people with T2D.
authors.affiliation: Toyooka Hospital Hidaka Medical Center, Toyooka, Japan; Laboratory of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.affiliation: Toyooka Hospital Hidaka Medical Center , Toyooka , Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Igaki
authors.affiliation: Toyooka Hospital Hidaka Medical Center , Toyooka , Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hatanaka
authors.affiliation: Toyooka Hospital Hidaka Medical Center , Toyooka , Japan.
authors.forename: Motoaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Komatsu
authors.affiliation: Toyooka Hospital Hidaka Medical Center , Toyooka , Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Toyooka Hospital Hidaka Medical Center , Toyooka , Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miki
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Sports and Exercise Medicine , Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University , Kyoto , Japan.
authors.forename: Taiga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Nagoya City University , Nagoya , Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takaishi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Sports and Exercise Medicine , Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University , Kyoto , Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
keywords: Exercise; Postprandial Blood Glucose; Skeletal Muscle Metabolism; Type 2 Diabetes