Why are physical activity breaks more effective than a single session of isoenergetic exercise in reducing postprandial glucose? A systemic review and meta-analysis.

Previous studies revealed that interrupting sitting time with short, frequent physical activity (PA) breaks were more effective than a single session of isoenergetic exercise in reducing postprandial glucose. However, in those studies, the expected glucose-lowering effects of single-session exercises were diminished or even eliminated by exercise-induced glucose counterregulation as evidenced by the higher glucose levels during or after exercise compared to uninterrupted sitting. This study was aimed to investigate whether glucose counterregulation is a potential explanation of PA breaks being more effective than a single session of isoenergetic exercise in reducing postprandial glucose.