Summary
No objective evidence has been presented to support the beneficial effect of physical training on glycaemic control in Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients trained two to three times a week for several months. In the present study we examined the possibility that a daily exercise programme would be more suitable for improving glycaemic control. Thirteen patients completed a 5-month study; 6 were randomized to exercise training (20 min daily bicycle exercise) and 7 served as non-exercising controls. The training resulted in an 8% increase in maximal oxygen uptake (p < 0.05). No change in glycaemic control occurred during the study period in either group. In addition, serum lipid and lipoprotein levels were followed. Total cholesterol decreased during the study period irrespective of training. No effect was noted on the levels of LDL, VLDL, HDL and HDL2 cholesterol. A significant training effect was obtained in the HDL3 subfraction (−10%,p < 0.05). Total triglycerides were unchanged, but a decrease in the level of LDL triglycerides was observed with training (−12%,p < 0.01). It is concluded that, in female Type 1 diabetic patients, daily physical training for several months does not improve glycaemic control and results only in minor changes in serum lipoprotein profiles.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wallberg-Henriksson H, Gunnarsson R, Henriksson J, DeFronzo R, Felig P, Östman J, Wahren J (1982) Increased peripheral insulin sensitivity and muscle mitochondrial enzymes but unchanged blood glucose control in Type 1 diabetics after physical training. Diabetes 31: 1044–1050
Wallberg-Henriksson H, Gunnarsson R, Henriksson J, Östman J, Wahren J (1984) Influence of physical training on formation of muscle capillaries in Type 1 diabetes. Diabetes 33: 851–857
Campaigne BN, Landt KW, Sperling MA, Mellies MJ, James FW, Glueck CJ, Stein EA (1984) Effect of exercise training on insulin sensitivity, lipids, cardiovascular fitness and glycaemic control in adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Diabetes 33 (Suppl 1) 68A
Zinman B, Zuniga-Guajardo S, Kelly D (1984) Comparison of the acute and long-term effects of exercise on glucose control in Type I diabetes. Diabetes Care 7: 515–519
Kannel WB, McGee DL (1979) Diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The Framingham Study. JAMA 241: 2035–2038
Palumbo PJ, Elveback LR, Chu CP, Conolly DC, Kurland LT (1976) Diabetes mellitus: incidence, prevalence, survivorship and causes of death in Rochester, Minnesota, 1945–1970. Diabetes 25: 566–573
Garcia MJ, McNamara PM, Gordon T, Kannell WB (1974) Morbidity and mortality in diabetics in the Framingham population. Sixteen year follow-up study. Diabetes 23: 105–111
Gordon T, Castelli WP, Hjortland MC, Kannel WB, Dawber TR (1977) High density lipoprotein as a protective factor against coronary heart disease. The Framingham study. Am J Med 62: 707–713
Schonfeld G, Birge C, Miller P, Kessler G, Santiago J (1974) Apolipoprotein B levels and altered lipoprotein composition in diabetes. Diabetes 23: 827–834
Kaufmann RL, Assal JP, Soeldner JS, Wilmshurst EG, Lemaire JR, Gleasen RE, White P (1975) Plasma lipid levels in diabetic children. Effect of diet restricted in cholesterol and saturated fats. Diabetes 24: 672–679
Nikkilä EA, Hormila P (1978) Serum lipids and lipoproteins in insulin-treated diabetes. Demonstration of increased high density lipoprotein concentration. Diabetes 27: 1078–1086
Nikkilä EA, Taskinen M-R, Rehunen S, Härkönen M (1978) Lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of runners: Relation to serum lipoproteins. Metabolism 27: 1661–1671
Moore CE, Hartung GH, Mitchell RE, Kappus CM, Hinderlifter J (1983) The relationship of exercise and diet on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in women. Metabolism 32: 189–193
Krauss RM, Lindgren FT, Wood PD, Haskell WL, Albers JJ, Cheung MC (1977) Differential increases in plasma high-density lipoprotein subfractions and apolipoproteins (Apo-LP) in runners. Circulation 56 (Suppl 11): 4
Nye ER, Carlson K, Kirstein P, Rössner S (1981) Changes in high density lipoprotein subfractions and other lipoproteins induced by exercise. Clin Chim Acta 113: 51–57
Åstrand PO, Rodahl K (1977) Textbook of work physiology. McGraw-Hill, New York, p 297
Heding L (1975) Radioimmunological determination of human C-peptide in serum. Diabetologia 11: 541–548
Carlson K (1976) Lipoprotein fractionation. J Clin Path 26 (Suppl): Ass Clin Pathol 5: 32–37
Fletcher MJ (1968) A colorimetric method for estimating serum triglycerides. Clin Chim Acta 22: 393–397
Zlatkis A, Zak B, Boyle J (1973) A new method for the direct determination of serum cholesterol. J Lab Clin Med 41: 846–892
Noble RP (1968) Electrophoretic separation of plasma lipoproteins in agarose gel. J Lipid Res 9: 693–700
Kirstein P, Carlson K (1981) Determination of the cholesterol content of high-density lipoprotein subfractions HDL2 and HDL3, without contamination of Lp (a); in human plasma. Clin Chim Acta 113: 123–134
Yudkin JS, Boucher BJ, France MW, Welch SG, Swindlehurst C (1979) The relationship between concentrations of glycosylated haemoglobins and of serum high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol in daibetic patients. Clin Sci 56: 269–272
Haskell WL, Camarago C Jr, Williama PT, Vranizan KM, Krauss RM, Lindgren FT, Wood PD (1984) The effect of cessation and resumption of moderate alcohol intake on serum high-density-lipoprotein subfractions. N Engl J Med 310: 805–810
Doyle JT, Kinch SH, Brown DF (1965) Seasonal variation in serum cholesterol concentration. J Chron Dis 18: 657–664
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wallberg-Henriksson, H., Gunnarsson, R., Rössner, S. et al. Long-term physical training in female Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients: absence of significant effect on glycaemic control and lipoprotein levels. Diabetologia 29, 53–57 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02427281
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02427281