Although exercise is recommended for people with type 2 diabetes, the authors of a recent study sought to determine what kind of exercise is most beneficial. Participants ages 30 to 75 years were recruited through advertising and had glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels between 6.5% and 11% and weren't exercising more than 20 minutes three or more days per week (were sedentary).
The 262 patients were divided into four groups for the nine-month study period: no exercise (the control group), aerobic training only, resistance training only, and a combination of aerobic and resistance training. (The control group was offered weekly stretching and relaxation classes.) Aerobic exercise included time on a treadmill, and resistance training included upper-body, leg, abdominal, and back exercises; exercise sessions were supervised. The mean time spent exercising each week was comparable among the intervention groups (aerobic group: 140 minutes per week; resistance group: 141 minutes per week; combination group: 110 minutes of aerobic exercise and 30 to 40 minutes of resistance training per week).
HbA1c levels were significantly reduced in the combination group, as compared with the control group. Changes in HbA1c levels in the other two exercise groups were not statistically significant. In patients with a baseline HbA1c level of 7% or higher, the change was even more dramatic (in this subgroup, aerobic exercise alone also conferred a benefit). Participants in the combination group had a greater decrease in average weight and a larger reduction in waist circumference than did those in the resistance and aerobic groups. Overall, 22% in the control group, 26% in the resistance group, 29% in the aerobic group, and 41% in the combination group either decreased their hypoglycemic medication use or reduced their HbA1c level by 0.5% without a medication increase. The authors concluded that combination training was the most beneficial of the three regimens.
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