Qigong walking trial reports lower anxiety and improved post-meal glucose
Among people with type 2 diabetes and anxiety, both exercise approaches reduced anxiety scores compared with education. Qigong walking also showed a reported advantage in blood glucose after meals.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Both exercise groups had lower anxiety scores than the education group after the intervention. Qigong walking also produced a greater reported improvement in glucose control, especially after meals, compared with either alternative. The abstract does not establish that qigong relieved anxiety more than aerobic exercise, or that the glucose changes improved longer-term health.
This abstract-based account lacks numerical changes and confidence intervals for anxiety and glucose. Statistical significance alone cannot show how large the differences were, and the reported blood chemistry changes do not establish a mechanism.
What researchers found
Blood glucose 2 hours after meals
Qigong walking versus both aerobic exercise and health education after 12 weeks; the abstract reports P < 0.05 but no effect magnitude.
Different outcomes, different comparisons
Anxiety was measured using a self-rating scale, while blood tests assessed glucose and lipid markers. The reported anxiety result compared each exercise group with education; the glucose result also directly compared qigong walking with aerobic exercise.
Blood chemistry offers clues
The qigong group showed changes in several blood metabolites and related pathways. These findings describe biological changes observed during the study. They do not establish that breathing, mindfulness or particular metabolites caused the clinical differences.
The original publication
Effects of Health Qigong Walking Practice on anxiety and serum metabolites in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A randomized controlled trial.
Gan L, Tang Q, Zhang Z et al.
Complement Ther Med · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41176176
- Record checked
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