Exercise Snacks Are Feasible to Perform in the Real World and Improve Physical Capacity for Adults Living With Non-Insulin Treated Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomised Trial

Aims: To investigate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 12-week remotely-delivered exercise snacks (ES) intervention in adults with type 2 diabetes. Material and Methods: Insufficiently active adults with type 2 diabetes (N = 69; 46 females; mean age ± SD: 58 ± 11 years) were randomised to an ES or mobility/stretching comparator group (CON), which involved 4 × 1-min bouts of either vigorous or low intensity exercise, respectively, on ≥ 5 days/week. The primary outcome was feasibility based on adherence. Secondary outcomes included exercise enjoyment (1–7 scale), rating of perceived exertion (RPE; 0–10 scale), heart rate (HR), haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood biomarkers of cardiometabolic health, 30-s sit-to-stand capacity, grip strength, estimated maximal oxygen uptake, and anthropometrics. Results: Weekly adherence (estimated marginal mean [95% confidence interval]: 18 bouts [16–21] for both groups; p = 0.99) and total enjoyment (ES: 4.5 [4.1–4.8] vs. CON: 4.3 [4.0–4.7]; p = 0.64) were high and not different between groups. Despite higher RPE (5.7 [5.4–6.1]) and peak HR (73 [70–77] % of age-predicted HR maximum) in ES versus CON (2.0 [1.7–2.4] and 61 [58–64] % of age-predicted HR maximum, respectively) (all p < 0.001), there were no between-group differences in the change in any secondary outcome (all p > 0.05) except for greater sit-to-stand capacity in ES after training (between-group effect estimate [95% confidence interval]: 1.9 repetitions [0.3–3.4]; p = 0.02). Conclusions: Exercise snacks were feasible to perform in the real world and improved sit-to-stand capacity to a greater extent than CON in adults living with type 2 diabetes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06407245. © 2026 The Author(s). Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.