The Effect of Aerobic Exercises and 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D Supplements on Glycemic Indexes and Insulin Resistant in Males with Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is considered to be one of the health problems in all societies. Exercise training and supplements are approaches for improving diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic training with and without 25-hydroxy vitamin D supplementation on fasting blood sugar, serum insulin, and insulin resistance.
This semi-experimental research with pretest-posttest design was conducted on 48 men aging 40 to 60 years with type 2 diabetes admitted to Jesus, son of Mary Hospital in Isfahan. Volunteers were selected through convenience sampling and were divided into four groups as follows: aerobic exercise group (n=12), aerobic exercise with 25-hydroxy vitamin D supplementation group (n=12), 25-hydroxy vitamin D supplementation group (n=12), and control group (n=12). The aerobic exercise program was performed for 8 weeks (3 sessions a week, each session lasting for 60-75 minutes, with the intensity of 60-80% of maximum heart rate). The supplement groups also received 50000 units of oral vitamin D weekly for 8 weeks. Fasting blood sugar, serum insulin, and insulin resistance were measured in the 4 groups before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed by ANCOVA and LSD post-hoc test.
The findings showed a significant difference among the four groups regarding the mean of fasting blood sugar, serum insulin, and insulin resistance (P The results indicated that vitamin D supplementation combined with aerobic exercises improved fasting blood sugar, plasma insulin level, and insulin resistance. Thus, aerobic training together with the use of vitamin D supplements can be considered as a complementary therapy in improvement of diabetes.