GO for IT
Principal Investigator: Professor Melanie Davies
Participation in physical activity plays a direct role in the prevention of numerous chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. In addition, moderate intensity physical activity has been shown to improve blood glucose control in those patients who already have type 2 diabetes at volumes recommended by the World Health Organisation. Therefore, evidence clearly indicates that changes to diet and physical activity can play a large part in the management of this condition. Despite this, participation in physical activity is alarmingly low, and type 2 diabetes is on the rise locally, nationally and around the world. The most frequent reason patients give for not doing moderate-intensity continuous exercise is that they don’t have the time to do the amount required to produce health benefits.
A possible alternative to moderate, continuous exercise is interval training: short bursts of more intense exercise (60 seconds) broken up by 60-second rest periods. It requires less physical activity and less overall time that moderate, continuous exercise.
South Asian populations have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to white Europeans. We know this because when matching patients for age and body mass index (BMI), patients of South Asian background tended to have higher insulin resistance, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels.
The GO for IT study aims to investigate the effects of interval training, as an alternative to moderate-intensity continuous activity, on blood glucose control in white European and South Asian patients at risk of type 2 diabetes. It will compare these effects with patients completing a similar length of moderate, continuous exercise and with a non-exercising control group.
For more information about the Go for It study please email Charlotte Jelleyman, study co-ordinator, or call 0116 258 4394