The comparison of continuous and intermittent training impact on glucose-4 transporter protein level and insulin sensitivity in diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is now seen as a worldwide epidemic disease with high prevalence. Exercise training (ET) is known to promote beneficial changes in diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of continuous and intermittent aerobic training on glucose-4 transporter protein (GLUT-4) levels and insulin sensitivity in diabetic rats.

This research was an experimental and interventional study. A number of 60 male rats weighing 180 to 310 grams and 13 weeks old were divided into six groups: healthy control, healthy continuous, healthy intermittent, diabetic control, diabetic continuous, and diabetic intermittent groups. The exercise protocol in both continuous and intermittent groups was aerobic training for six weeks which was conducted considering overload principle. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance test in P< 0.05 level.

The results showed that despite the significant difference between insulin resistance and GLUT4 level among diabetic rats in different groups compared to control group, there was no significant difference between the impact of continuous and intermittent training on these indices (P=1.00).

Through increasing the GLUT4 protein content, the continuous and intermittent training improved insulin resistance.