Association between aerobic capacity and the improvement in glycemic control after the exercise training in type 2 diabetes

Hideki Nojima, Masayasu Yoneda, Hiroshi Watanabe, Kiminori Yamane, Yoshihiro Kitahara, Kiyokazu Sekikawa, Hideya Yamamoto, Akihito Yokoyama, Noboru Hattori, Nobuoki Kohno, the Hiroshima University Health Promotion Study group

We investigated the influence of aerobic capacity on the improvement in glycemic control achieved by long-term aerobic exercise in type 2 diabetes. Fifty-three male patients with type 2 diabetes, recruited from outpatient clinics, wore multiple-memory accelerometers and were instructed to exercise at moderate intensity for ≥30 min on ≥3 days per week over 12 months. Peak oxygen uptake (peak [Formula: see text]) and serum glycated albumin (GA) were measured at baseline and after 3, 6, 12 months. Peak [Formula: see text] data were expressed as percentages of predicted values. According to the number of bouts of exercise (intensity, ≥4 METs; duration, ≥15 min), the subjects were divided into inactive (<3 times per week) or active (≥3 times per week) groups. Serum GA decreased significantly after 3, 6, 12 months only in the active group. When the subjects were assigned to four groups according to initial peak [Formula: see text] (%pred) (low-fitness or high-fitness) and the number of bouts of exercise (active or inactive), serum GA decreased significantly after 3, 6, 12 months only in the high-fitness/active group. When the subjects were also assigned to four groups according to the change in peak [Formula: see text] (%pred) (improved or unimproved) and the number of bouts of exercise (active or inactive), serum GA decreased significantly after 3 and 12 months only in the improved/active group. The improvement in glycemic control achieved by aerobic exercise was associated with both the initial and the increase in peak [Formula: see text] during aerobic exercise.