Rowing and Cycling Reduce Inflammation in Early-Stage Type 2 Diabetes

Study Process 1. Screening & enrolment ‐ We recruit 128 adults (18‐60 years) who have been diagnosedwith type 2 diabetes within the last 12 months and have never taken diabetesmedication. 2. Baseline assessments ‐ Before starting, all participants undergo blood tests(glucose, insulin, inflammatory markers), a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) isplaced on their arm, and they wear an activity tracker for 7 days. 3. Randomization ‐ Participants are randomly assigned to one of four groups (32 peopleeach):Control ‐ usual care, no exerciseCycling ‐ 40 min of moderate‐intensity cycling per dayRowing (HIIT) ‐ 24 min of high‐intensity interval rowing per dayCombined ‐ 20 min rowing + 20 min cycling (50 min total) 4. Intervention ‐ All exercise groups train once a day for 7 consecutive days at theresearch centre under supervision. Heart rate is monitored throughout. 5. Continuous monitoring ‐ The CGM records glucose levels every 15 minutes during thewhole 7‐day period. Activity trackers record physical activity outside the exercisesessions. 6. Post‐intervention assessments ‐ On day 8, we repeat all blood tests, measureinflammatory markers again, and collect the CGM data.9. Data analysis ‐ We compare changes in blood sugar fluctuations and inflammationbetween the groups, and use statistical models to find which exercise regimen works bestand for whom (e.g., younger vs. older patients).The entire study takes about 9 days per participant (1 week of exercise + 2 days oftesting).