Post-Meal Walking as A Strategy for Postprandial Glycemic Control After High-Carbohydrate Meals in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Literature Review of Timing, Duration, & Intensity

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by impaired postprandial glycemic control, a condition of particular concern in Asian populations, including Indonesia, where rice serves as the dominant carbohydrate source and carries a high glycemic index. Postprandial exercise, particularly walking, has been proposed as a practical, low-cost, non-pharmacological strategy to attenuate glucose excursions after meals, yet no prior narrative review has specifically synthesized evidence on post-meal walking in relation to high-carbohydrate, rice-based diets. This narrative review aimed to synthesize existing evidence on the effectiveness, optimal timing, duration, and intensity of post-meal walking for glycemic control in individuals with T2DM, and to evaluate its relevance to high-carbohydrate meal contexts. Literature was searched through PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar for studies published between 2016 and 2026, yielding ten randomized controlled trials that met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed that post-meal walking consistently reduced postprandial glucose excursions, peak glucose, and area under the curve, with the most consistent benefits observed when walking was initiated within 15-30 minutes after meals, for 10-20 minutes, at light-to-moderate intensity. These effects are physiologically explained by insulin-independent GLUT4 translocation induced by muscle contraction. Compared with other modalities such as resistance training, cycling, high-intensity interval training, and spot marching, walking remained the most broadly applicable option due to its safety, accessibility, and minimal equipment requirements. However, no included study used rice as the test meal or was conducted in Indonesian or Southeast Asian populations, indicating that current recommendations remain extrapolated and warrant direct investigation in rice-consuming populations.