Exercise in the Elderly with Diabetes

Seung Jin Han

doi:10.4093/jkd.2011.12.1.37

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Han: Exercise in the Elderly with Diabetes

Focused Issue

J Korean Diabetes 2011;12(1):37-40.

Published online: 22 January 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4093/jkd.2011.12.1.37

Exercise in the Elderly with Diabetes

Seung Jin Han

Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The prevalences of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance increase with age. Older diabetic patients show reduced physical function compared with that of non-diabetics of the same age as a result of multifactorial impairment that includes visual deterioration, peripheral neuropathy and balance problems. Even though limited data are available on the role of exercise in the treatment of type 2 diabetes in the elderly, there are many studies about the beneficial effects of exercise on glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and lipid panel. Therefore exercise is generally recommended for the management of diabetic patients. The ADA recommends at least 150 min/week of moderate aerobic exercise spread out over at least three days, with no more than two consecutive days between bouts of aerobic activity. In addition to aerobic training, persons with type 2 diabetes should undertake moderate resistance training at least 2-3 days/week. Exercise in older diabetic patients should be undertaken in moderation and increased gradually over time.

Keywords: Diabetes, Elderly, Exercise

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Table 1.

Summary of randomized trials on exercise in elderly subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Study	Program content/Duration (wk)	No.	Age (yr)^a	Effects^a	Reference
1	2 sessions/wk (gymnasium)+	14	59.0 ± 1.4	↑VO_2max 15.7%	[6]
	1 session/wk (home) (104 wk)			Glucose: no change
2	1 session/wk (12 wk) +	64	62.4 ± 5.9	↓ Weight 2.8%	[8]
	2 sessions/wk (12 wk)			↓Hb A1c 1.1%
3	3 sessions/wk (16 wk)	39	69.3 ± 4.2	↓OGTT glucose AUC	[9]
				↑ Total time on the treadmill
4	3 sessions/wk (12 wk, supervised) +	58	62 ± 5	↑VO_2max 9.6%	[7]
	3 sessions/wk (14 wk, non-supervised)			Hb A1c: no change

^a , In the experimental group.

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