Year: 2026
Type: review
Abstract: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has transformed glucose assessment by providing continuous information on glucose concentrations and their fluctuations throughout the day. Although CGM was developed primarily for individuals with diabetes, its use among people without diagnosed diabetes has attracted increasing interest. Commercial availability, wearable health technology and growing interest in personalised nutrition have encouraged individuals to use CGM to understand how meals, physical activity, sleep and other lifestyle factors may influence glucose patterns. This narrative review examines the emerging applications of CGM in people without diabetes, with particular attention to dietary assessment, postprandial glucose responses, physical activity, metabolic health and behaviour modification. It also considers the important limitations associated with interpreting CGM data in this population. CGM measures glucose in interstitial fluid rather than directly measuring blood glucose, and differences may occur when glucose concentrations change rapidly. Furthermore, glucose fluctuations following meals are physiological and should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of metabolic dysfunction. Although CGM may increase awareness of individual glucose responses and potentially encourage healthier lifestyle choices, evidence supporting routine CGM use in metabolically healthy individuals remains insufficient to establish it as a standard preventive or diagnostic tool. Appropriate interpretation, professional guidance and further clinical research are therefore essential before CGM-derived metrics can be routinely applied to people without diabetes.
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7218309131