Abstract
Introduction: Studies show that short-term aerobic exercise with diet improves glycemic control and cardiovascular health of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Such a study has not been conducted with a diet designed for Saudi residents. The purpose of the study was to find out the influence of aerobic exercise on some selected physiological parameters with intervention of diet among type 2 diabetes mellitus male adults. Method: Twenty patients (mean age (SD) = 41.2 (9.4)) during the year 2019 from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia were distributed equally into the intervention and control groups. This was done after excluding patients with chronic diseases, or those who could not come to the study location. The intervention group went through 50-minute exercise sessions (40-90% intensity), three times a week for 12 weeks, and were provided diet recommendations. Control group was not given any specific training. Body mass, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol, HbA1c, fasting blood glucose and resting heart rate were measured before and after the program. Significant levels were set at 0.05. Result and Discussion: Analysis of results after training programs revealed that experimental group had improved in the following variables, as follows; Body mass index of experimental group from pre to post-test with mean and standard deviation were (from 30.68 +/- 4.35 to29.63 +/- 4.58, values, P<0.02), respectively. Total cholesterol changes (from 210.1 +/- 29.46 to 167.21 +/- 21.19, values, P<0.00), HbA1c changes (from 8.91 +/- 1.28 to 8.08 +/- 1.37, values, P<0.00), Fasting blood glucose changes (from 230.4 +/- 90.37 to 210.4 +/- 81.45, values, P<0.00), Resting heart rate improved (from 82.50 +/- 4.97 to 73.90 +/- 4.62, values, P<0.00). Moreover, control group had not shown any changes from pre to post test and all the selected variables were not significant. Conclusion: It is concluded that the aerobic training with diet intervention had shown improved performance among type 2 diabetes mellitus male adults with regard to the selected variables, such as; total cholesterol, HbA1c, fasting blood glucose and resting heart rate.