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Exercising is an essential activity when it comes to fitness and maintaining overall health. However, excessive exercise can lead to complications in people with diabetes, making it tough for them to maintain good health. This becomes all the more difficult when the diabetes patients are your children and you must ensure that you help them exercise safely.
Some of the most important points to keep in mind when it comes to children with type 1 diabetes exercising safely are mentioned below:
- Exercise is a crucial aspect of diabetes management: all it needs is a little planning.
- Children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes can participate fully in physical education (PE) classes as well as team sports at school.
- It is vital to have excellent communication between you (as a parent), your child, a healthcare professional, and your child’s PE coach or teacher at school.
- A specially written insulin plan for your child will help in ensuring that your child has optimum control of blood glucose levels both during and post-exercise. Adults that are responsible for the supervision of your child need adequate training to recognise and treat low blood sugar levels. Your child must have easy access to blood sugar monitoring devices and fast-acting, carbohydrate-rich foods.
Exercise And Blood Glucose Levels
Aerobic exercise (such as cycling, walking, and general play) tends to lower blood sugar levels. On the contrary, anaerobic exercises (such as sprinting, weightlifting, or hockey) tends to increase blood sugar levels. Several forms of team, as well as individual sports (such as netball or rugby) and children’s playground activity, are a blend of both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.
The Risk Of Hypoglycaemia
Children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes are at an elevated risk of hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar levels. This could happen amid exercise or immediately after exercise. Alternatively, there could be a delay of many hours, resulting in hypoglycaemia during sleep.
The Most Optimum Way To Avoid Hypoglycaemia During Exercise
To prevent drops in blood glucose levels that accompany exercise, insulin doses could be reduced, or intake of carbohydrates can be increased. That said, adjustments to insulin doses most often need advance planning, which can be quite challenging with variable or unplanned activity patterns. Hence, it could be easier to make provisions for extra carbohydrates, especially when it comes to school-based activities, such as gym class or recess.
Some Key Pointers To Ensure That Your Child Exercises Safely
- During a day at school, if your child is engaging in less than 30 minutes of low-intensity aerobic physical activity immediately after lunch or a snack, such as running around a playground, additional carbs are typically not needed.
- If your child is engaging in 30-45 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as playing football, an additional 10-20 gm of rapid-acting carbs (such as a 4-ounce juice box, 3 tablets of glucose, or a packet of apple sauce) may be required.
- When it comes to after-school sports that occur at predictable schedules, you may reduce the dose of active insulin. If the duration of physical activity is extended (such as running additional laps or a game that runs long), 10-15 gm of additional carbs for every 30 minutes of extended duration is an optimum way to start.
Responding To Blood Sugar Levels
Typically, during a day at school, your child will have his or her blood sugar checked several times. It is extremely important to pay close attention to these levels before taking part in any exercise or physical activity. In addition, it would be ideal to note the direction where these blood glucose levels are headed.
Converse with teachers as well as coaches about diverse approaches to avoid low blood sugar levels. As a rule of thumb for your child, it is ideal to begin exercising at a blood glucose level of 100-200 mg/dL. That said, if the glucose level is between 250 and 300 mg/dL, it may be essential to check for the presence of ketones in the urine or blood.
If the blood glucose level is above 400 mg/dL or if the level of ketones is found in moderate to substantial amounts in your child’s urine, then he or she must not engage in exercise or physical activity and must receive additional insulin according to the healthcare plan. When ketones are found in the urine in lesser amounts, then your child must exercise with utmost caution or as recommended by your healthcare professional.
On A Final Note
All children require plenty of exercise, and the same is applicable to children with type 1 diabetes. That said, blood-sugar-level management based on your child’s activity can be quite a challenge. Careful monitoring of blood sugar levels before, during, as well as after exercise or physical activity is crucial when it comes to planning doses of insulin and intake of food.
