Introduction: Post-prandial hyperglycemia is an important independent risk factor in the development of cardiovascular disease in diabetes. This randomised cross-over study was conducted to compare the post-prandial glycemic and insulin responses to both high and low glycemic index (GI) meals in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods: A total of 41 patients with established T2DM (16 males, 25 males, Age= 55 ± 10 years and BMI = 27 ± 4kg/m²) were randomly given either a High GI or a Low GI meal in a cross-over manner. Both test meals were separated by one week washout periods. The meals contained almost the same amount of energy and macronutrients with the exception of the GI values (High GI=70 vs Low GI= 36). Venous blood was taken through an indwelling catheter periodically at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 minutes respectively. The incremental area under the curve (iAUC) was used to calculate the post-prandial glycemia and insulin excursion over the 3-hour period. Results: The low GI meal induced lower glycemic responses at times 30,60,90 and 120 minutes (mean±SE; low GI=8.1±0.4, 9.1±0.4 and 8.9±0.4 and 8.5±0.4mmol/l vs high GI=9.1±0.4, 10.7±0.4, 11.0±0.5 and 9.7±0.5mmol/l) and reduced the insulin levels at time 60,90,120 and 150 minutes (mean±SE; low GI=215.93±15.9mmol.L/minute vs high GI=419.52±32.7mmol.L/minute) and insulin (mean±SE;low GI=1439.76±226 vs high GI=2372.76±317mIU.ml/min) curves were lower after the low GI than high GI meal respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: The low GI meal has the ability to reduce the post-prandial hyperglycemia as well insulin responses in type 2 diabetes patients.

Introduction: This study aimed to ascertain the effects of a Facebook-based physical activity intervention on improvements in step counts and metabolic syndrome. Methods: Government employees with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned by cluster to the Facebook group (n = 44) or the control group (n = 103). All participants were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires at baseline, after the first and second phases. Data from anthropometric (weight, body mass index, fat mass, body fat percentage, waist circumference, hip circumference and waist-to-hip ratio), biochemical (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and fasting glucose) and clinical examinations (systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure) were collected. The number of steps per day was determined by a Lifecorder e- STEP accelerometer. Results: A significant difference in the number of steps per day between the baseline and the first phase (p<0.001) was observed in both the Facebook and control groups. A significant group main effect (p<0.001) was found for the number of steps per day; the Facebook group had a significantly greater increase in the number of steps per day than the control group. Overall, a significant strong to very strong correlation was found between the changes in the number of steps per day and the changes in the other variables. Conclusion: The Facebook-based intervention approach has the potential to increase physical activity among government employees with metabolic syndrome.