Exercise mode influences post‐exercise glucose sensitivity and insulin clearance in young, healthy males and females in a sex‐dependent manner: A randomized control trial

Abstract Type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk is lower in females than males. It has been reported that females have greater pancreatic 𝛽‐cell function than males, which may at least in part contribute to the T2D risk in females. 𝛽‐cell function is influenced by exercise training; however, previous trials comparing 𝛽‐cell function between the sexes have not included participants matched for training status. Furthermore, the acute effects of different modes of exercise on 𝛽‐cell function, and whether sex inherently influences these effects, are largely unexamined. Males and females (12/sex) completed a 120‐min oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at rest (CON) and following acute bouts of high‐intensity interval exercise (HIIE), moderate intensity continuous (MIC) exercise, and low‐load high‐repetition (LLHR) resistance exercise to assess whether sex inherently influences baseline and/or post‐exercise pancreatic function in the absence of pathology. We found no sex differences in basal pancreatic 𝛽‐cell function. Females had greater basal insulin clearance following MIC exercise compared to males (p = 0.01) and males tended to have a higher potentiation ratio following HIIE (p = 0.07). Females also had lower glucose sensitivity following MIC exercise compared to HIIE (p = 0.007) and LLHR (p = 0.003). Insulin clearance during the OGTT was greater following HIIE as compared with CON and MIC exercise (p = 0.02). 2‐H oral glucose insulin sensitivity was greater following LLHR compared to CON (p = 0.01). Acute bouts of different modes of exercise do not differentially influence 𝛽‐cell function but do influence insulin clearance and insulin sensitivity. Therefore, sex and exercise mode interact to differentially influence insulin clearance and glucose sensitivity.