Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Arm swing is a Chinese style of exercise. During the exercise, participants stand and simultaneously move their both arms forward and then backward for about 1 round per second.

Abstract: The present study aims to investigate effects of arm exercise training on metabolic responses in type 2 diabetic Thai patients.

Methods: Fourteen male and 47 female diabetic patients (aged 57.5±1.4 yrs) without cardiovascular disease were recruited in the present study. All subjects were informed verbally and in writing before they signed the consent form approved by the Ethical Committee of the University of Nottingham Medical School. Subjects did not take part in regular physical training. The experiment consisted of 2 eight-week periods. During the first period, subjects maintained normal daily life without regular exercise. During the next consecutive period, they performed 30-min arm swing per day, 3 days per week. Fasting blood glucose, HbA_1c concentrations, insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles and anthropometry were measured before and after each period. Insulin sensitivity was determined by the Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI).

Results: There were no significant differences on fasting blood glucose and HbA_1c concentrations, insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles, and anthropometric parameters between both periods.

Conclusions: These results suggest that thirty-min arm swing for 8 weeks may have no effects on glucose and lipid metabolism in Diabetes Mellitus type 2. Either the exercise intensity or frequency of arm swing may be too low to have a significant effect on metabolism in type 2 diabetes patients.