Research

Energy balance

HIIT improves glycaemic control (HbA1c, 2h glucose) and reduces visceral fat in type 2 diabetes, but does not significantly change fasting glucose or insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR) within the study period.

HIIT helps lower your average blood sugar (HbA1c) and improves how your body handles sugar after meals, even if your fasting blood sugar doesn't change immediately. It also reduces visceral fat. Stick to the 12-week protocol; the benefits on liver fat and overall glucose control are significant, even if fasting numbers remain stable.

GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
HIIT had no impact on fasting glucose... or fasting insulin... however, between-group comparisons revealed improvements in HbA1c, 2 h glucose and AUGC... There was no improvement in insulin sensitivity (HOMA2 of insulin resistance [HOMA2-IR] and HOMA2 of insulin sensitivity [HOMA2-%S])
Sophie Cassidy et al. · Diabetologia · 2015

Why this rating

RCT design, but small sample size and high inter-individual variation in liver fat response.

Source

High intensity intermittent exercise improves cardiac structure and function and reduces liver fat in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised controlled trial

Sophie Cassidy et al. · Diabetologia · 2015

DOI 10.1007/s00125-015-3741-2

rct · n=28Cited 210×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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