Exercise is hugely beneficial for people with type 1 diabetes and is associated with greater wellbeing.  Often people will avoid exercise due to the fear of unpredictable blood glucose responses, especially hypoglycaemia.  This slide set has been designed to explain the changes in glucose associated with exercise and provide some strategies to help maintain stable glucose control during and after exercise.  

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EXERCISE SLIDE SET

 

Contents of video:

 

CAUTION:  EXERCISE SHOULD BE AVOIDED IN THE 24 HOURS FOLLOWING ANY SEVERE HYPOGLYCAEMIC EVENT (GLUCOSE LESS THAN 2.8 OR REQUIRING HELP FROM OTHERS) AS THE RISK OF A FURTHER SEVERE EPISODE IS HIGH.

 

We hope this information will help you approach exercise with greater confidence.  If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us at diabetesclinic.rie@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk 

 

Other useful sources of information:

ExCarbs contains advice on exercise and diabetes and also provides individualised advice based on the details you provide (weight, insulin doses, duration of exercise etc.).

Runsweet is a website run by Dr Ian Gallen (a national expert on sports and diabetes).  It has extensive information about how to best manage diabetes across a wide range of activities.

This detailed article in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology provides the latest evidence-based guidance on managing exercise in T1 diabetes (free to download but requires registration):