Comparing the Effect of Walking and Yoga on Clinical and Laboratory Parameters in Men with Type II Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Identifying safe strategies to regulate the laboratory and clinical parameters of patients with diabetes is critical.

The study aimed to compare the effect of walking and yoga on clinical and laboratory indicators in men with type II diabetes.

This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 108 patients with diabetes who were randomly assigned to walking, yoga, and control groups. Data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire, mercury sphygmomanometer, height, and weight scale, and blood serum biochemical tests before the intervention and after the end of the eighth week of the intervention. Interventions were performed in both yoga and walking groups for 8 weeks, three times a week for 60 minutes each time, and the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS V. 20 software. The significance level was less than 0.05.

The results showed after the intervention the mean of FBS (P = 0.045), LDL (P = 0.005), HDL (P = 0.001), systolic blood pressure (P = 0.002), and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.003) were significantly different between the three groups. Changes in the mean of fasting blood sugar (FBS), cholesterol, and body mass index (BMI) were significant only in the yoga group, and changes in the mean of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were significant solely in the walking group (P < 0.05).

Yoga and walking had a desirable effect on improving the clinical and laboratory indicators in men with type II diabetes. However, yoga regulated more indicators in the studied patients in comparison to walking.