Diabetes and exercise techniques

A new study carried out at the Jaeb Centre for Health Research in Tampa, Florida, investigated the effect of insulin on blood sugar during exercise amongst children with type 1 diabetes.
The study team, along with other members of the Diabetes Research in Children Network Group, found that type 1 children being treated with an insulin pump could prevent a decline in blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) when exercising. However, the risk of blood sugar levels rising (hyperglycaemia) climbed.
One of the problems of diabetes treatment is that exercise can induce hypoglycaemia. Methods to prevent this happening are few. The team who conducted the study investigated just under 50 diabetic children. They said: “Turning off the insulin pump during exercise is an effective strategy for reducing hypoglycaemia in children with type 1 diabetes, but the risk of hyperglycemias is increased.”
This type of strategy would only be effective for those patients using insulin pump therapy. The results of the study are published in leading journal Diabetes Care.