Aims: To analyze the effects of 8 weeks of aerobic walking using a heart rate monitor (HRM) and pedometer for monitoring exercise intensity on glycemic outcomes, fasting blood glucose (FBG), cardiovascular fitness and well-being in type 2 diabetes patients.
Methods: Forty adults with type 2 diabetes were randomly allocated to an 8-week supervised program of walking using heart rate monitor and pedometer (group A=20) and control group (group B=20). All outcomes were determined at baseline and after the 8-week training period.
Results: The exercise training program resulted in a 9.7% (P<0.05) improvement in group A. Fasting blood glucose level decreased significantly by 37% in group A (P<0.05). Body mass index (BMI) ratio decreased by 3.9% in group A and increased by 2.2% in group B. General well-being (GWB) improved by 28.8% (P<0.05) in the exercising group and there was an improvement in all parameters associated with cardiovascular health.
Conclusion: Monitoring an exercise program using a heart rate monitor and pedometer was effective and decreased the level of HbA1c, FBG, BMI and improved general well-being. Further using HRM helped us to attribute all improvements to the exercise intensity that we used in our study.
(c) 2009 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.