The Effect of 3 Months of Aerobic Training on TNF-α and Insulin Resistance in Obese Men with Type 2 Diabetes

This study aimed at determining the effect of aerobic training on Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and insulin resistance in males with type 2 diabetes. 30 inactive adult obese men (30≤BMI≤36) with type 2 diabetes were randomly divided into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The experimental subjects participated in three months of aerobic training (3 sessions per week) at %60–75 HRmax. Serum levels of TNF-α, glucose and insulin resistance were measured before and 48 hours after the last training session. Independent t test was used to compare variables at baseline. Paired t test was used to determine the effect of training program on variables. Kolmogorov-Smirnov was applied to determine the normal distribution of data. Aerobic intervention significantly decreased glucose (P=0.001) and insulin resistance (P=0.034) and did not change TNF-α (P=0.83). Despite the lack of change in TNF-α, 3 months of aerobic training was accompanied with a significant improvement in glucose and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes patients. Based on our findings and other available evidence, improvement in glycemic profile and insulin resistance can be attributed to the changes in other hormonal or metabolic mediators that needs more studies in this area.