The effect of long-term aerobic exercise on serum adiponectin and insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetic patients

Obesity and overweight is known to play a key role in type 2 diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to compare insulin sensitivity and serum adiponectin between type II diabetic patients and healthy people، and to determine the effect of weight loss due to long-term aerobic exercise training on these variables in diabetic patients.

For this purpose، thirty adult obese men with type 2 diabetic were randomly divided into experimental (aerobic exercise training، 3 months، 3 days/weekly) and control groups (no training exercise). Anthropometric indexes، serum adiponectin، glucose، insulin and insulin sensitivity were measured before and after aerobic exercise program in the two groups. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS software using t-test to compare the baseline measures and determine the effect of aerobic exercise on all variables.

In the baseline، fasting glucose and serum insulin were lower and serum adiponectin and insulin sensitivity were higher in healthy people than diabetic patients. Serum adiponectin and insulin sensitivity were found to increase significantly after aerobic exercise in the experimental group. Insulin levels remained unchanged and fasting glucose concentration and all anthropometrical indexes decreased significantly in the experimental group. All variables remained unchanged in the control group.

Based on the findings، we concluded that aerobic exercise for a long time increases insulin sensitivity and serum adiponectin level in type II diabetic patients.