Exercise and Glucose Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Aerobic exercise and resistance training often are recommended in combination in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but the data supporting a combination, as opposed to either type alone, are scarce. In a randomized controlled trial, 262 sedentary patients (mean age, 56; mean body-mass index, 35 kg/m², mean glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA_1c] level, 7.7%) were assigned to resistance training alone, aerobic exercise alone, both exercises together, or usual activity. Aerobic exercise consisted of walking at a pace of about 3 miles per hour for about 2 hours weekly. Resistance training consisted of large-muscle weight training 3 days weekly. The combination consisted of about 80% of what the aerobic exercise–only group did plus about a third …