Home-Based Resistance Training Improves Glycemic Control and Body Fat Content in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Experience from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background: Physical exercise is a key component in management of diabetes. Benefits of aerobic exercise are well established. Role of resistance training is less well studied and data from local setting are limited. We aimed to study the effect of resistance training on glycemic control and body fat. Methods: A randomized controlled study was conducted in a diabetes clinic, involving 60 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus. 30 of them were randomly allocated to resistant training with Thera bands. Routine medical and dietary management were continued in both groups. Glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose (FBG), body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage (BFP) were measured at baseline and after 4 months. Results: Mean age, mean duration of diabetes, baseline HbA1c, FBG, BMI, and BFP of the population were 53.6 years, 11.3 years, 8.8%, 135.0 mg/ dL, 26.9 kg/m2, and 31.3%, respectively. Resistant training group achieved significant reductions in HbA1c (10.3%, p=0.001), FBG (5.9%, p=0.01), BMI (4.1%, p=0.02), and BFP (6.1%, p=0.03), while changes in the control group were insignificant. Conclusions: Resistant training improves glycemic control and body weight in short term, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.