Short cycle sprints could help prevent diabetes

A new study has found that doing short cycle sprints three times per week could help to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.
Scientists at the University of Bath, who work was published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, assessed the effects of two 20-second cycle sprints three times a week, finding that there was a 28 per cent improvement in the insulin function of participants. Although the short sprints in the study are not suitable for weight loss, as they don’t burn off sufficient calories, they do also offer other health benefits and help general fitness.
It is known that regular exercise can help to maintain low levels of blood sugar but that two thirds of the population are not managing to achieve the recommended five 30-minute sessions of moderate exercise each week. The short sprints are a great way for the muscles to use glycoge, as they can break down as much glycogen in 20 seconds as carrying out moderate endurance exercise for an hour.
Study leader, Niels Vollaard, commented “Our muscles have sugar stores, called glycoge, for use during exercise. To restock these after exercise the muscle needs to take up sugar from the blood. In inactive people there is less need for the muscles to do this, which can lead to poor sensitivity to insulin, high blood sugar levels, and eventually type 2 diabetes.”
He added “We already knew that very intense sprint training can improve insulin sensitivity but we wanted to see if the exercise sessions could be made easier and shorter.”