10 minutes of stair-stepping lowers blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity: Study

Based on the research, the authors found the following:

• Glucose concentrations were decreased following the 10 min (−22.69 mg/dL) and 3 min (−15.37 mg/dL) bouts but not the 1 min bout (−6.18 mg/dL).
• Insulin concentrations were decreased following the 10 min (−6.11) and 3 min (−2.589 μIU/dL) bouts but not the 1 min bout (−0.37 μIU/dL).
• Insulin sensitivity index values showed a significant increase in the 10-min trial (1.81), but not during the 3 min (0.65) or 1 min trial (0.13).
• There was no omnibus effect for trial in TAC (p = 0.132, η2 = 0.07).
• There was no interaction between trial and time for blood lactate (p = 0.621, η2 = 0.02).

To conclude, short duration, moderate-intensity stair-stepping leads to a decrease in peak postprandial glucose and insulin levels with as little as 3 min but longer (10 min) stepping is needed to also increase insulin sensitivity following a standard glucose challenge. This intervention had no effect on total antioxidant capacity (TAC). 

Reference:

The study titled, "Three minutes of moderate-intensity stair walking improves glucose and insulin but not insulin sensitivity or total antioxidant capacity," was published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.