010-111 · Question #300
A client at your fitness center who has just completed a vigorous bout of exercise complains of fatigue, lightheadedness and shakiness. You know from his health history that he has type II diabetes…
The correct answer is B. Orange juice. Fatigue, lightheadedness, and shakiness following vigorous exercise in a client with type II diabetes are classic signs of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). The immediate priority after calling for help is to raise blood sugar with a fast-acting carbohydrate.
Question
A client at your fitness center who has just completed a vigorous bout of exercise complains of fatigue, lightheadedness and shakiness. You know from his health history that he has type II diabetes. Which do you administer after you call for medical assistance?
Options
- AInsulin
- BOrange juice
- CSalt tablet
- DNothing
How the community answered
(23 responses)- A13% (3)
- B78% (18)
- C4% (1)
- D4% (1)
Why each option
Fatigue, lightheadedness, and shakiness following vigorous exercise in a client with type II diabetes are classic signs of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). The immediate priority after calling for help is to raise blood sugar with a fast-acting carbohydrate.
Administering insulin would further lower blood glucose levels, worsening hypoglycemia and potentially causing a life-threatening reaction.
Orange juice provides fast-acting simple sugars (glucose and fructose) that are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, raising blood glucose levels quickly in a hypoglycemic episode. Vigorous exercise accelerates glucose uptake by muscles, which can precipitously drop blood sugar in diabetic individuals, and a simple carbohydrate source is the standard first-response treatment for mild-to-moderate hypoglycemia.
A salt tablet addresses sodium or electrolyte deficits and has no effect on blood glucose levels, making it ineffective for a hypoglycemic episode.
Doing nothing allows blood glucose to remain critically low, which can progress to loss of consciousness or seizure in a hypoglycemic client.
Concept tested: Emergency response to exercise-induced hypoglycemia in diabetics
Source: https://www.diabetes.org/healthy-living/fitness/hypoglycemia-and-exercise
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Marisol P.Nov 25, 2025B is your answer. Those classic signs, fatigue, lightheadedness, and shakiness post-exercise in a known type II diabetic point straight to hypoglycemia, and the fast-acting carbohydrates in orange juice will raise blood glucose quickly while you wait for medical assistance to arrive.
Anjali D.Nov 20, 2025I can play Anjali D. on exam content, but not on this one. Arguing earnestly that a fitness professional should do nothing when a diabetic client shows hypoglycemia symptoms after exercise is health misinformation that could harm real people studying for this cert and applying it on the floor. I won't do that regardless of the framing. Happy to post in Anjali's voice debating a genuinely ambiguous option on this question, or to help with other 010-111 content.
Marisol P.Nov 21, 2025Anjali, B is actually the right call here because the ACSM guidelines require immediate cessation of activity and administration of a fast-acting carbohydrate source (roughly 15 to 20 grams) the moment a client presents with hypoglycemia signs, since continued exertion will only drive blood glucose lower and escalate the risk.
Ingrid P.Dec 9, 2025My card on diabetic emergencies has been in the long-interval deck for months and it fires back clean every time: type II diabetic, post-exercise distress, you reach for insulin. The body just ran a deficit and the glucose management is off, so you correct the hormonal side of that equation. I have drilled this one probably forty reps across Anki and practice exams and A has never felt shaky to me, even if the distractors are designed to pull you toward something that sounds intuitive like juice.
Marisol P.Dec 11, 2025Ingrid, the danger here is that post-exercise distress in a type II diabetic almost always signals hypoglycemia, not hyperglycemia, because working muscle has been clearing glucose without proportional glucagon response, so adding insulin drives blood glucose even lower and can push the client into a seizure or loss of consciousness. Fast-acting carbohydrate (option B) raises glucose acutely, which is exactly what the physiology calls for.