Reducing Glycemic Indicators with Moderate Intensity Stepping of Varied, Short Durations in People with Pre-Diabetes.

Investigate the effects of short duration stair climbing/descending at a self-selected pace on post-prandial glucose responses in adults. Thirty participants (10 female) completed 4 oral glucose tolerance tests on separate days. Following glucose consumption, participants underwent seated rest (control) or walked up/down 21 stairs at a self-selected comfortable pace for 10, 3, and 1min in randomized order. Blood glucose was measured by capillary sampling from finger sticks every 15min until values for all trials converged. Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated by trapezoidal rule. In addition, cardiometabolic measurements were taken during stair exercise with a mobile metabolic cart. Results are presented as mean (SD) unless stated otherwise. All stair-climbing trials reduced peak (30min) postprandial blood glucose levels compared to the control [(1 min = 12(31), p = 0.026; 3 min = -15(25), p = 0.003; 10 min = 35(32) mg/dL, p < 0.001]. At 45min, there were significant reductions only for the 3 and 10 min trials [13(29) and 23(31) mg/dL, p = 0.023 and < 0.001 respectively], but not the 1 min trial [6(33) mg/dL, p = 0.317]. There were significant differences in AUC compared to the control only for the 3 and 10min trials [502 (1141) and 866 (1123) mg/dL·min-1, p = 0.023 and < 0.000] but not for the 1min trial [353 (1265) mg/dL·min-1, p = 0.110]. Median (interquartile range) RPEs reported for the 1, 3, and 10min trials were 1.0 (1.5), 2.0(2), and 3.0 (2.0) respectively, while VO2 was n/a, 54(12), and 59(13)% of peak, respectively. Total metabolic cost was 1.4 (0.5), 4.0 (1.0), and 11.9 (2.1) L O2, respectively. A single 1min bout of low-moderate intensity stair stepping can significantly lower peak glucose concentration, with longer bouts being more effective.