Abstract
Objectives
The objective of this study was to assess sex differences in PPG responses to short
stair stepping bouts, and to describe their intensity and metabolic cost.
Design
Crossover trial.
Methods
34 participants (age: 25.9 ± 5.5 y; women = 14) underwent 4 oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) during rest or with stair-stepping
bouts at self-selected, moderate pace for 1, 3, and 10 min. Blood was collected every 15 min during the OGTTs and assessed for glucose. Participants also underwent maximal
aerobic capacity assessment. Expired gases were collected during capacity testing,
and each stair-stepping bout.
Results
Normalized to body weight there was no significant interaction for sex with stair-stepping
trials (p = 0.445, ηp2= 0.03), or time (p = 0.069, ηp2= 0.09), or trial by time (p = 0.264, ηp2= 0.04). Women had higher mean glucose values than men (15(CI = 3, 27)%, p = 0.015). iAUC also showed no interaction of sex*trial (p = 0.059, ηp2= 0.09). Women had higher iAUC values (meanΔ = −29(−48, −11)%, p = 0.003). There was a main effect for trial with 10min showing the largest reduction
from control for women (e.g. AUC −10(−6, −13)%, p < .001) and men (−8(2, 13)%, p = .010). Metabolic cost of the stair stepping bouts showed no interaction of sex*trial
(p = 0.715, ηp2= 0.01) and no difference between sexes (meanΔ = −1.3(−5.9, 3.4)%, p = 0.571). Intensity was higher for women for the 3 min (60 ± 11 vs. 48 ± 9%VO2max, p = 0.003) and 10 min (67 ± 8 vs. 54 ± 12%VO2max, p = 0.002) bouts. Moreover, both sexes underestimated the true intensity of stepping.
Conclusions
Both sexes had similar responses to short bouts of exercise, which they perceived
as less intense than indicated by objective assessment. Stair stepping reduces postprandial
glucose response with similar effectiveness for both sexes.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03400774.
Abbreviations:
AUC (area under the curve), BMI (body mass index), CHO (carbohydrate), GE (gross efficiency), HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin), iAUC (incremental area under the curve), OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test), PPG (postprandial blood glucose), RPE (rating of perceived exertion), VO2max (maximal oxygen consumption)Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 20, 2018
Accepted:
July 13,
2018
Received in revised form:
July 9,
2018
Received:
February 8,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Sports Medicine Australia.
