Research
Hormonal
Exercise promotes glucose uptake in skeletal muscle via an insulin-independent mechanism involving AMPK activation, distinct from the insulin signaling pathway.
Exercise helps your muscles take up glucose directly, even if your insulin sensitivity is low. This happens through the activation of AMPK, a cellular energy sensor. This is why physical activity is beneficial for blood sugar control regardless of insulin resistance status.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Exercise promotes glucose uptake by an insulin dependent mechanism involving AMPK. Exercise is important for improving insulin sensitivity; however, it is not known if AMPK is required for these improvements.
Why this rating
Based on multiple mouse models and human studies cited.
Source
AMPK and Exercise: Glucose Uptake and Insulin Sensitivity
Hayley M. O’Neill · Diabetes & Metabolism Journal · 2013
DOI 10.4093/dmj.2013.37.1.1
narrative_reviewCited 282×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- AMPK is not required for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle, as AMPK-deficient mouse models show normal insulin-stimulated glucose uptake.Good
- AMPK is required for exercise-mediated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle, as complete abolition of AMPK activity leads to dramatic reductions in glucose uptake during exercise.Good
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