Desk-bound with diabetes | Mirage Information

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Tied to a desk with diabetes? The study tests the effectiveness of a sedentary intervention

An innovative study in Melbourne enables desk workers with type 2 diabetes to literally take a stand with an exercise program when they return to the office or need to work more time from home.

Physical activity experts at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute hope to help desk workers with type 2 diabetes who may have noticed an increase in their sedentary lifestyle since the pandemic began.

Physical Activity Institute director Professor David Dunstan said the waves of lockdown have skyrocketed Melbournian’s sedentary time, and this is especially important for people with chronic conditions like diabetes.

“A higher level of sedentary lifestyle is linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and also has a significant impact on effective management of the disease,” said Professor Dunstan.

“However, recent studies have shown that reducing and interrupting sitting time has positive effects on key markers such as blood sugar control and insulin levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

“We want to demonstrate this to a large group of desk workers in Melbourne in the hope that the results will provide a clear path to our increasing diabetes burden.

“Currently 280 Australians develop diabetes every day – that’s one person every five minutes – and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is particularly high among middle-aged and older workers.”

Professor Dunstan’s team is recruiting participants for the OPTIMIZE study who may return to the office to ease restrictions, as well as those who need to continue working from home.

They hope to hire 250 people with type 2 diabetes at their desks in Melbourne to see if reducing and interrupting sitting time helps with blood sugar control. The six-month intervention part of the study includes health coaching, the use of a free sit-stand workstation and an app for physical activity.

/ Baker Institute Public Release. This material is from the original organization and may be of a temporal nature and may be edited for clarity, style and length. Full view here.