Non-diabetics are buying continuous glucose monitors – but are there actually any health benefits?

Many people living with diabetes use continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to track their blood sugar levels. These small devices, often attached to the back of your upper arm or abdomen, send data to an app on your phone. This allows you to see, in near real-time, how your blood sugar levels spike or drop depending on what you eat or how active you have been.

The benefits for people living with diabetes are obvious, as failing to keep abreast of blood sugar levels can be dangerous. But these devices are increasingly being advertised as health aids to the broader community, including health-conscious non-diabetics and elite athletes. But our own research has found using these pricey devices provides little benefit for healthy athletes without diabetes.

And there’s very little research to support their use in healthy active people with normal glucose control. That said, there are several areas which warrant further research. Do these devices benefit athletes without diabetes? If your blood sugar levels drop below normal range (known as hypoglycaemia) during endurance exercise, your athletic performance suffers.

So it’s easy to see why it might seem logical to track blood glucose in real time during endurance exercise. Many assume this data could signal when it’s time to consume more carbohydrates during or after exercise. Carbs help maintain your blood sugar levels, fuelling your body to ensure it has enough energy to complete the session.

However, glucose regulation during.