Abstract
Objective
To compare the effect of an acute 30-min bout of self-paced stationary cycling (SC)
with treadmill walking (TW) or a resting control (CON) on maternal blood glucose,
insulin and metabolic responses during pregnancy.
Methods
Twelve healthy women at 29.9±2.4 (mean±SD) weeks gestation consumed a 75 g carbohydrate drink as part of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) following 30 min of SC, TW or CON. Blood was sampled before and after exercise, and for 2 h in response to the OGTT for the determination of glucose and insulin. Exercise intensity
was monitored and enjoyment of TW and SC was assessed post-exercise.
Results
Women selectively worked harder in SC compared with TW, with a higher maternal heart
rate, rating of perceived exertion, mean oxygen consumption, respiratory exchange
ratio, and total energy expenditure during exercise (p<0.05). SC was also associated with significantly lower postprandial blood glucose levels
at 120 min following the OGTT (6.9±0.9 mmol∙l−1) compared with both CON (8.1±0.7 mmol∙l−1, p=0.001) and TW (7.8±0.9 mmol∙l−1, p=0.004) and lower insulin at 120 min post-glucose ingestion compared with TW (p=0.021). Enjoyment was similar between exercise protocols (p=0.437).
Conclusions
In late pregnancy, an acute 30 min bout of self-paced SC may be preferable to a matched duration of TW given the
additional energy expenditure that can be achieved, which in turn appears beneficial
for blunting the glycemic response to glucose ingestion.
Abbreviations:
BMI (Body mass index), CON (Resting control trial), FS (Feeling scale), GCT (Glucose challenge test), GDM (Gestational diabetes mellitus), HR (Heart rate), HRmax (Heart rate maximum), OGTT (Oral glucose tolerance test), PACES (Physical activity enjoyment scale), RER (Respiratory exchange ratio), RPE (Rating of perceived exertion), SC (Stationary cycling), TW (Treadmill walking), V˙O2max (Maximal oxygen consumption), W (Watts)Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 18, 2013
Accepted:
December 11,
2012
Received:
October 9,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
