Table 3.
Abridged summary table for aerobic exercise interventions, their main outcomes and findings
| Article | Intervention | Main outcome measures | Main findings (control vs. intervention group) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halse et al. 26 | Cycling 5× per week. 3× a week: supervised 45 min moderate intensity and short bouts of higher intensity, 2× a week 30 min moderate cycling unsupervised | Mean capillary blood glucose pre‐exercise and post‐exercise (exercise group only) | ↓ Improved |
| HbA1c | Increased in both groups, with no difference between groups | ||
| OGTT | ↔No difference | ||
| Insulin sensitivity | ↔No difference | ||
| Pooled capillary glucose levels | ↓ Improved | ||
| Ruchat et al. 27 | Supervised walking programme 3–4× per week: 40 min in total with 30 min at target HR of 30 or 70% HRR according to group allocation | Capillary blood glucose pre‐exercise and post‐exercise | ↓ Improved in all groups and durations. Longer durations of exercise (40 min). Improvements in capillary glucose attenuated with longer durations of exercise |
| Davenport et al. 28 | 3–4 walking sessions a week of 40 min at 30% HRR | Capillary blood glucose | ↓ Improved |
| Requirement for insulin | ↓ Improved | ||
| Amount of insulin | ↓ Improved | ||
| Ong et al. 29 | 3× per week 45 min cycling ergometer at 50–60% HRmax | Blood glucose response (OGTT) | ↓ Improved OGTT at 1 h |
| Insulin sensitivity (OGIS) | ↔ No difference | ||
| Callaway et al. 30 | Individualized exercise plan, to reach recommendation of 7.5–12.5 MET‐h/week of moderate to vigorous intensity activity | Insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) | ↔ No difference |
| Fasting glucose | ↓ Improved | ||
| Fasting insulin | ↓ Improved | ||
| Avery et al. 62 | 2 supervised session per week 30‐ and 5‐min warm‐up, 20 min 70% HRmax, 5‐min cool down on cycle ergometer. In addition, 1–2 unsupervised sessions at the same intensity walking | Fasting glucose | ↔ No difference |
| HbA1c | ↔ No difference | ||
| Use of insulin therapy | ↔ No difference | ||
| Guelfi et al. 64 | 3× per week at home supervised on cycle ergometer. Warm‐up for 5 min at 55–65% HRmax, intervals alternating between 65 and 75% HRmax and 75–85% HRmax. Sessions progressed by increasing in duration by 5 min every 2–3 weeks so that they started at 20 min up to a maximum of 60 min | Pre‐intervention and post‐intervention OGTT | ↔ No difference |
| HOMA‐IR | ↔ No difference | ||
| OGIS | ↔ No difference | ||
| HbA1c | ↔ No difference | ||
| Wang et al. 68 |
3× per week supervised exercise sessions on cycle ergometer. 5‐min warm‐up (55–65% HRmax) 30‐s sprint at 75–85% HRmax every 2 min for 3–5 intervals, followed by 5 min at 60–70% HRmax. 3 × 1 min at 75–85% HRmax (increased resistance) 2 min at 65–75% HRmax. 5‐min cool down at 55–65% HRmax. Exercise period start at 45 min and increased to 60 min progressively |
Incidence of GDM | ↓ Improved |
| Gestational weight gain |
↓ Improved Insulin levels ↓ |
||
| Insulin resistance |
Improved Insulin resistance ↔ remained the same |
||
| OGTT: fasted | ↓ Improved | ||
| 1 h post‐ingestion | ↓ Improved | ||
| 2 h post‐ingestion | ↓ Improved | ||
GDM, gestational diabetes mellitus; HbA1c, glycated haemoglobin; HOMA‐IR, homeostatic model assessment‐insulin resistance (method to quantify insulin resistance 38); HRmax, heart rate maximum established from predicted formula or sub‐maximal exercise testing; HRR, heart rate reserve (target heart rate was determined using the HRR equation by Karvonen et al. 36); MET‐h/week, metabolic equivalents‐hours per week; OGIS, Oral Glucose Insulin Sensitivity index, which determines insulin sensitivity from the OGTT 37; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test (the specific test used is outlined in each study).