There is no dose–response relationship between the amount of exercise and improvement in HbA1c in interventions over 12 weeks in patients with type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis and meta-regression

AIMS: Aerobic exercise is well recognised as an effective treatment for people with type 2 diabetes but the optimal amount of aerobic exercise to improve glycaemic control remains to be determined. Thus, the aim of this meta-analysis and meta-regression was to assess the impact of volume and intensity of aerobic exercise on glycaemic control. METHODS: Medline, Cochrane, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched up until 15 December 2020 for the terms “aerobic exercise AND glycaemic control”, “type 2 diabetes AND exercise”, and “exercise AND glycaemic control AND Type 2 diabetes AND randomised control trial”. We included (i) randomised control trials of ≥ 12 weeks, (ii) trials where participants had type 2 diabetes and were aged 18 or over, and (iii) the trial reported HbA1c concentrations pre- and post-intervention. Two reviewers selected studies and extracted data. Data are reported as standardised mean difference (SMD) and publication bias was assessed using funnel plots. RESULTS: A total of 5364 original titles were identified. Sixteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. Aerobic exercise reduced HbA1c versus control (SMD = 0.56 (95% CI 0.3–0.82), p < 0.001). There were also significant reductions in BMI (SMD = 0.76 (95% CI 0.25–1.27), p < 0.05). There was no dose–response relationship between improvement in HbA1c and the intensity and volume of the intervention (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Twelve-week or longer aerobic exercise programmes improve glycaemic control and BMI in adults with type 2 diabetes. Longer or more intense interventions appear to confer no additional benefit on HbA1c. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00592-022-01918-8.