Objective: To investigate the influence of combined exercise training on indices of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes patients.
Design: A double-blind randomized controlled trial with patients receiving either combination (COM), endurance (END) or no training (C).
Setting: Sint-Jozef hospital (Belgium), general practice (Holland).
Subjects: Forty-six type 2 diabetes patients (17 female, 29 male).
Interventions: COM versus END and C. Patients exercised for three months, three times a week for 1 hour.
Main measures: Six-minute walk test (6MW T), peak Vo(2), strength in upper and lower limbs, sit-to-stand, height, weight, body mass index, fat mass, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), glycaemia, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol and quality of life (General Health Survey Short Form (SF-36)).
Results: COM had significant better results on sit-to-stand (P<0.05), 6MW T (P<0.01), strength in upper (P<0.001) and lower limbs (P<0.001) compared with C. A different evolution among COM and C was found for HbA1c (P<0.05) and cholesterol (P<0.01), both decreased in COM and increased in C. HDL increased in COM and decreased in C (P<0.01). END had significant higher results on the 6MW T (P<0.01) compared with C. Compared with END, COM had significantly higher results on strength in upper (P<0.01) and lower limbs (P<0.01). The evolution of SF-36 items was not significantly different between the three groups.
Conclusion: In diabetes type 2 patients, COM had significant better effects on indices of physical condition, diabetes and cardiovascular risk compared with C. Compared with END, COM gave a tendency towards better results, however more research with a larger number of participants is needed.