In young obese adults, continuous 30-minute light-intensity walking—either alone or combined with brief 3-minute interruptions—reduces postprandial insulin concentrations by approximately 20–25% over 6 hours, while brief interruptions alone have no effect on postprandial insulin concentrations.

When a person walks continuously for 30 minutes after eating, their leg muscles keep contracting, which pulls glucose out of the blood without needing insulin. This lowers blood sugar. At the same time, the steady movement increases blood flow to the muscles and liver, helping the body remove insulin from the blood faster. Because the body doesn't need to produce as much insulin to manage sugar, insulin levels drop. Brief walks don't do this because they don't keep the muscles active long enough to trigger these effects.