People living with Type 1 diabetes
Plain-English guides, tools like GlucoseGo, and support from other people who exercise with Type 1.
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Exercise for Type 1 Diabetes
Choose your EXTOD site. Each one is written for you, with advice and tools you can trust.
Healthcare professionals
Clinical frameworks, referral routes, research and CPD for teams supporting people with Type 1 diabetes.
Enter siteWhy exercise matters
Moving more is one of the best things you can do
Moving more strengthens your heart and lungs. It often makes insulin work better, lifts your mood, helps you sleep and gives you more energy for everyday life.
You do not need to become an athlete. Walking, gardening, swimming, cycling, dancing and everyday movement all count. Confidence comes before fitness - you simply need to begin.
The honest bit
Exercising with Type 1 diabetes can be tricky
Exercise changes your glucose. Sometimes it falls, sometimes it rises, and it is not always easy to predict. That puts a lot of people off - research with the University of Exeter and Breakthrough T1D found that 53% of adults fear a low during exercise.
Exercise isn’t the problem. Understanding exercise is the solution.
Glucose can fall
Steady exercise like jogging, cycling or swimming usually lowers glucose - sometimes quickly.
Glucose can rise
Short, hard efforts like sprints or heavy weights can push glucose up instead.
Everyone is different
Your pattern is your own. With a little practice, you can learn it - and plan around it.
It may not be easy, but the good news is that it is possible. With the right advice and guidance, you can take part in any exercise you choose.
Who we are
We are EXTOD - EXercise for Type 1 Diabetes
We are doctors, nurses and researchers from UK universities and the NHS. We have spent years studying how exercise and Type 1 diabetes work together. Everything on this site comes from that research - written in plain language, for real life.
Universities of Exeter, Birmingham and LeicesterNHS diabetes teamsNIHR-funded research
Our technology partner
Enhance-d - your data, your community, in one free app
Enhance-d puts your glucose, your workouts and your wearables side by side, and connects you to thousands of other people exercising with diabetes. It is built by exercise scientists and people living with diabetes - and they built this website for EXTOD, free of charge.
Ready to start?
Take the first step today
Start with GlucoseGo. Tell it your glucose, your trend arrow and how long you plan to move. It gives you a simple plan for a safe session.
Educational tools, not medical devices. Our tools are digital interpretations of peer-reviewed research. They do not provide medical advice.