Approved Research

The effects of physical activity on cognition and COVID-19 rehabilitation in people with metabolic disorders

Lay summary

Appropriate physical activity (PA) could improve physical and mental well-beings in both healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions. Up to 150 min to 300 min moderate-intensity, or 75 min to 150 min of vigorous-intensity PA per week is recommended for health benefits in people with diabetes. However, the effect of exercise on cognitive function in people with diabetes need to be verified, and the optimal amount of PA for cognition protection remained to be explored. Furthermore, COVID-19 pandemic raised new challenges in the managements of diabetes due to changes in living habits. And the infection is also related with long-lasting mental and neurological malfunctions, which made the situation more complicated. We intend to explore relationship of PA and cognition integrity in people with diabetes, and also search for the optimal dose of PA which is both beneficial and safe for cognitive function rehabilitation in post COVID-19 infection. We hope our research will promote the understanding of protective effects of PA in people with metabolic disorders, and optimize decision-making about personalized PA strategy in people with diabetes and COVID-19.