Scientific Reports · Nov 4, 2026
Effects of a 12-week aerobic exercise and nutrition intervention on continuous glucose monitoring-derived glycemic variability in breast cancer survivors: an exploratory study
By Imperio M, Annibalini G, Sisti D et al.
Endocrine therapies and being physically inactive increase type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in breast cancer survivors (BCS). This study evaluated the effect of an aerobic exercise training program combined with Mediterranean diet (MD) guidance on continuous glucose monitoring-derived glycemic variability in a subgroup of BCS participants enrolled in the MoviS clinical trial. Twenty-seven women (age 52.3 ± 8.6 years) were randomized to an intervention group (n = 15) performing a 12-week supervised aerobic training program plus receiving MD and physical activity (PA) recommendations or a control group (n = 12), receiving PA and MD recommendations only. Cardiometabolic health, PA level, food intake, and metrics of glucose control (using continuous glucose monitoring, CGM), were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. General linear mixed models examined group-by-time effects, while linear mixed models assessed daily food intake and CGM outcomes accounting for exercise and non-exercise days. Both groups improved cardiometabolic health, while the inter-day glucose variability increased in the control group. On exercise days, higher oligosaccharide and fiber intake and lower mean glucose were observed, whereas glucose level increased on non-exercise days, particularly in the control group. These findings support combining CGM with dietary logs and supervised aerobic exercise to assess glycemic variability, thereby potentially contributing to T2D prevention in BCS.