The Effect of Aerobic Combined Elastic Band Training on Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

PURPOSE: Diabetes has emerged as a widespread global public health concern, and exercise has been substantiated to exert a beneficial control effect on diabetes. Varied types of exercise exhibit distinct impacts on real-time blood glucose levels. Gaining insight into the effects of different exercise modalities on continuous real-time blood glucose levels can facilitate the design of tailored exercise programs for individuals with diabetes. METHODS: This study included 24 community-dwelling elderly patients with diabetes (62 ± 9 yrs) who underwent a 12-week intervention experiment. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices and Actigraph accelerometers were worn by all patients. The participants were trained using an aerobic mixed elastic band resistance training program. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of aerobic mixed elastic band resistance training, the levels of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and total cholesterol (TCHOL) significantly decreased (P = 0.0072), while glucose (GLU) levels decreased significantly (P = 0.022). Triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein levels did not show significant changes (1.99 ± 0.12 vs.1.95 ± 0.19 P = 0.054,2.95 ± 1.08 vs. 3.01 ± 1.21, P = 0.526). Among the CGM indicators, the average blood glucose level decreased from 8.68 ± 2.39 before intervention to 8.02 ± 2.47 after intervention (p = 0.016), and the Time in range (TIR) increased from 68.32 ± 24.03% before intervention to 74.67 ± 22.11% after intervention (p = 0.029). There were no statistically significant differences in the percentages of low blood glucose, high blood glucose, or glucose rise index (GRI) (P = 0.46). (3) Before and after training, the total duration of different levels of physical activity for patients during the same period was examined. After the 12-week intervention, the duration of moderate-intensity physical activity (1.6-3.0 MET) increased from 1387 hours to 1739 hours (P = 0.006), and the duration of high-intensity physical activity (3.1-6.0 MET) increased from 98 hours to 198 hours (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A 12-week training intervention can effectively improve real-time blood glucose levels in elderly patients with diabetes. After aerobic combined elastic band resistance training, the daily exercise awareness of diabetic patients significantly increased.