Modeling the effect of non-exercise activity on peak post-prandial glucose in diabetes

The timing, intensity, and duration of postprandial exercise are important factors that reduce glucose excursions. When exercise is of moderate intensity, performed between 25 and 55 minutes after a meal, it results in greater attenuation of glucose. However, the potential glucose reduction for shorter-duration, non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) (such as activities of daily living) may also be beneficial, particularly in cases where exercise is neither feasible nor prudent. Therefore, we designed a system to capture blood glucose and activity intensity through internet of medical things devices and modeled the impact of the timing and duration of NEAT on peak glucose. This work designed a linear mixed effects model to evaluate the impact of NEAT on peak, postprandial glucose in a study of data captured on varied participants with or without diabetes. We found at least 25 minutes of NEAT starting 30 minutes after the meal most effectively reduced peak post-prandial glucose.Clinical Relevance— This work establishes the impact of NEAT on reducing post-prandial peak glucose in free-living environments as another method of controlling glucose surges