According to a very recent study published in the magazine Diabetic Care, diabetic patients who combine aerobic exercise with resistance training to attain an increase in fitness level and a reduction of weight were found to have experienced significant improvements in their conditions. Patients were reported to be 2.81 times more likely to realize lower levels of glucose and a significant decrease in the use of drugs to manage their conditions after reducing their weights and increasing their fitness level, according to the leader of the research group, Dr. Timothy S. Church of Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Included in the study were 201 patients coming from different demographics and who were diagnosed to have type 2 diabetes. Those who participated in the study were patients aged 30 to 75 years with the mean at 58 years. These participants were described to have poor fitness levels, with an average body mass index (BMI) of 35 classifying them as obese.
Three groups were created where one group assigned to do either the aerobic exercise or resistance training, another group to perform the two exercises, and the remaining subjects acted as the control group. The aerobic exercise of the first group consisted of brisk walking for 140 minutes per week on an inclined treadmill at a maximum heart rate of 50 to 80 percent while resistance training involved basic workout at the same standards. For those assigned to do both exercises, 110 minutes were allocated for brisk walking and 30 minutes resistance training per week.
Respondents were assessed after the nine-month trial period on the following criteria: glucose levels, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, body fat, measures of fat mass, leg muscle strength, estimated effort expended during exercise or the estimated metabolic equivalents of tasks (METS). Used in determining the participant’s body fat composition was the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
Notwithstanding the several factors used in assessing the results, two aspects which had great impact on glucose levels were highlighted by the authors. These were the fitness level which was basically gauged on how long a patient performed the exercise on the treadmill and amount of fat reduced which may be measured by the circumference of the waist.
By using different sets of exercises in the methodology, this study differs from previous researches of the same nature. Other studies may have concentrated on one type of exercise which is usually aerobic in nature and others combine different factors such as diet and behavioral changes.
To a person suffering from type 2 diabetes, aerobic and resistance training routines may really be very beneficial. If other measures such as diet, healthy lifestyle, and other conservative methods are incorporated, then it might be correct to say that a more substantial improvement may be realized.
This may eliminate the need for medications which may only expose patients to additional risks in light of the increasing number of complaints raised against certain type 2 diabetes medications. Numerous litigations such as the Byetta lawsuits have been filed across the country as a result of the complications suffered by patients. You may visit byettalawsuits.us for more information about this matter.
References:
medscape.com/viewarticle/
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
