Prenatal Exercise and Glucose Regulation (FITT-B)

August 31, 2026 updated by: Brittany Tucker, University of Central Arkansas

The Impact of Prenatal Exercise Type and Intensity on Glucose Control in Pregnant Women

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common disease during pregnancy and is characterized by an inability to regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels because of resistance to the hormone, insulin, which is responsible for getting glucose out of the blood. Aerobic training (AT, "cardio," for example: walking) is commonly used to regulate blood glucose levels in similar populations, like diabetics, but another form of exercise known as resistance training (RT, for example: weightlifting), has shown to be just as effective. Further, exercise intensity, regardless of the type, is directly proportional to blood glucose control. However, no study has compared AT and RT exercise modalities or intensity on blood glucose regulation in GDM, even though women with GDM share a similar insulin resistant phenotype as diabetics. Therefore, long-term objective of this study is to compare the effects of exercise type and intensity on glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity after four acute exercise sessions: low intensity RT (LOW-RT), low intensity AT (LOW-AT), moderate intensity RT (MOD-RT), moderate intensity AT (MOD-AT). Researchers will address the following aims:

Specific Aim 1: Determine the impact of exercise type and intensity on glucose regulation using continuous glucose monitoring during- and for 24 hours after four acute exercise sessions: LOW-RT, LOW-AT, MODRT, and MOD-AT. Researchers hypothesize that RT and moderate intensity will elicit better glucose control compared to AT and low intensity, respectively.

Specific Aim 2: Determine the impact of exercise type and intensity on insulin sensitivity by quantifying the quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (QUICKI) before and after four acute exercise sessions: LOWRT, LOW-AT, MOD-RT, and MOD-AT. Researchers hypothesize that RT and moderate intensity will elicit greater insulin sensitivity compared to AT and low intensity, respectively.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as an inability to manage blood glucose (sugar) levels that is first diagnosed during pregnancy and poses a significant threat to the mom and baby. Even so, current pharmacological treatment strategies may not affect the root cause of the problem (reduced sensitivity to insulin) in the same way that other adjuvant therapies, like exercise, do. In fact, exercise has been coined as "medicine" in many professional organizations because of its regenerative nature, owing to its ability to improve physiological outcomes just like pharmacological treatments.

As such, exercise prescription, like drug prescription, must be specific and consider several key variables, such as those described in the FITT principle for exercise: frequency (how often), intensity (how hard), time (how many minutes), and type (which kind of exercise). Although resistance training (RT, a type of exercise) and higher intensities of exercise are tremendously influential on insulin sensitivity and consequent glucose regulation in populations with similar physiological burdens as GDM (e.g., type 2 diabetes mellitus), no study to date has thoroughly explored the impact of these variables in GDM. Furthermore, in general, prenatal exercise recommendations prescribing FITT are for the very general health of the mom and baby. However, "general health" tends to be quite myopic for a population such as GDM, whose characteristic physiological issue is insulin insensitivity, which thus should be the main target. Therefore, a major obstacle in the field of prenatal exercise is determining what FITT exercise prescription is optimal for insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation in GDM, and not simply overall health (again, much like medicine). In effect, my long-term goal is to determine the appropriate FITT prescription for optimal insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation in GDM. My central hypothesis is that the current FITT prescription for prenatal exercise in GDM grossly underestimates what is needed for optimal insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation. To begin testing my hypothesis, in the proposed study, I will seek to address two aims:

Specific Aim 1: Determine the impact of exercise type (resistance training [RT], aerobic training [AT]) and intensity (low, moderate) on glucose regulation in GDM by assessing real-time blood glucose levels using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) during and for 24 hours after an acute bout of exercise in four conditions: low intensity RT (LOW-RT), low intensity AT (LOW-AT), moderate intensity RT (MOD-RT), and moderate intensity AT (MOD-AT). The hypothesis is that MOD-RT will elicit the most optimal glucose regulation throughout the 24-hour window, followed by MOD-AT, then LOW-RT, and finally LOW-AT.

Specific Aim 2: Determine the impact of exercise type (RT, AT) and intensity (low, moderate) on insulin sensitivity in GDM by calculating the quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (QUICKI) using blood glucose levels before and after an acute bout of exercise in four conditions: LOW-RT, LOW-AT, MOD-RT, and MODAT. The hypothesis is that MOD-RT will elicit the greatest change in insulin sensitivity, followed by MOD-AT, then LOW-RT, and finally LOW-AT.

This data could be immensely informative for prescribing exercise for optimal metabolic health in GDM and could therefore be used to manage acute changes in glucose levels in this population. For example, if the hypothesis of this study is confirmed, this may mean that if a woman with GDM has a brief episode of high glucose levels (e.g., after a high-sugar meal), she may be "prescribed" a form of RT at a certain intensity to get her glucose levels back to baseline, instead of-/in concert with- pharmacological approaches, therefore, effectively using specific exercise prescription as a form of medicine. In the future, I plan to determine the optimal prescription of the other FITT variables (frequency and time) for optimizing glucose regulation in GDM. Then I will use this exercise prescription in a long-term exercise training study in GDM and examine the impacts on both the mom and baby.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

23

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Brittany R Tucker, PhD
  • Phone Number: 484-802-6852
  • Email: rallman@uca.edu

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Jamie Baum, PhD
  • Phone Number: 479-601-2499
  • Email: baum@uark.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Arkansas
      • Conway, Arkansas, United States, 72035
        • Recruiting
        • Human Performance Laboratory (HPL) at the University of Central Arkansas
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Biological female
  • Singleton (one fetus)
  • 24-30-wks gestation
  • 18-35 yrs old
  • Sedentary
  • Conception without the use of assisted fertility treatments

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Existing other metabolic disorders
  • Currently taking medication or supplements that affect glucose metabolism
  • Taking drugs, tobacco, or alcohol during pregnancy
  • Having a contraindication to exercise

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Twenty-three women in the second to third trimester of pregnancy will be recruited for this study. Inclusion criteria will consist of: biological female, singleton (one fetus), 24-30-wks gestation, 18-35 yrs old, sedentary, and conception without the use of assisted fertility treatments. Exclusion criteria will consist of existing other metabolic disorders, currently taking medication or supplements that affect glucose metabolism, taking drugs, tobacco, or alcohol during pregnancy, having a contraindication to exercise.
Behavioral: Acute exercises sessions with different exercise types and intensities
During both RT sessions, participants will perform eight exercises that will target the whole body. Exercises will be performed using dumbbells at four sets of 10 repetitions, with one minute of rest between sets. The first set will be done with very light weight (warm-up). The next three sets will be the "working sets," done with a weight that will elicit the proper intensity. During AT, participants will use either a treadmill, bike, elliptical, or rower. Throughout the 45-minute session, every five minutes, the participant will report their RPE, and if they report low, speed will be increased by 0.1-0.5 mph until the proper intensity is achieved. Incline/resistance will not be used to modulate intensity, to ensure that there are no mechanical influences on AT that mimic the nature of RT.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
24-hour glucose regulation
Time Frame: 24 hours
Determine the impact of exercise type (resistance training [RT], aerobic training [AT]) and intensity (low, moderate) on glucose regulation in GDM by assessing real-time blood glucose levels using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) during and for 24 hours after an acute bout of exercise in four conditions: low intensity RT (LOW-RT), low intensity AT (LOW-AT), moderate intensity RT (MOD-RT), and moderate intensity AT (MOD-AT).
24 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Insulin sensitivity
Time Frame: Acute (~1 hour)
Determine the impact of exercise type (RT, AT) and intensity (low, moderate) on insulin sensitivity by calculating the quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (QUICKI) using blood glucose levels before and after an acute bout of exercise in four conditions: LOW-RT, LOW-AT, MOD-RT, and MODAT.
Acute (~1 hour)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Central Arkansas

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Brittany R Tucker, PhD, University of Central Arkansas

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 24, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 15, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 23-201

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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