Physical Activity Advice Only or Structured Exercise Training and Association With HbA1c Levels in Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction

The author chose to analyze Physical activity advice only or structured exercise training and association with HbA1c levels in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Umpierre et al., 2011). The article is about the impacts of exercises in people with diabetes and how it helps to control the level of glucose. The impacts of different exercise interventions are unclear and yet to be researched on. The meta-analysis is focused on researches that analyze the relationship between exercise and the control of glucose in people with diabetes type 2.

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Identifying research Questions, Independent Variables, and Dependent Variables

The research question is how structured exercise affects the control of glucose in people with diabetes type 2. The research question is addressed in the article by analyzing the impacts of randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of the structured exercise training regimens, including aerobic and resistance, and the physical activity advice with and without dietary intervention The research was done on people who have diabetes type 2 and whose hemoglobin A can be measured. The hypothesis in the article is that the use of structured exercises advice in people with diabetes type 2 affects the level of glucose in their body. The null hypothesis would be that there is no relationship between the structured exercises and the level of glucose in the bodies of the people who have diabetes type 2. The dependent variable is the level of glucose in the body of diabetes type 2 patients and the independent variable is the structured exercise.

Selection of studies

The research used in the article were from reliable database MEDLINE, Cochrane-CENTRAL, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, LILACS, SPORTDiscus and abstracts from related research results. The keywords used in the research are diabetes type 2, randomized controlled clinical trials, aerobic, resistance, dietary cointervention, and hemoglobin. All researches were required to be in English and this led to the disqualification of two types of research that were not I English. The research also concentrated on studies that were done from January 1980 to February 2011. The studies used are also the ones that combined structured exercises with the level of hemoglobin in the blood. The paper also explains that the data were analyzed by two independent reviewers who also determined the quality of the studies.

The brief summary of studies

The study is summarized using tables and figures. For example, table one and table 2 show the characteristics of the Structured Exercise Studies Included and Characteristics of the Physical Activity Advice Studies Included respectively. The tables make it possible to understand the summaries at a glance. The study analyzes 4191 articles and 8538 patients suffering from diabetes type 2. Random effects model was used to calculate the pooled mean differences. The HbA (1C) levels were tested in patients who had structured exercise sessions of about 150 minutes per week. The analysis in the article is on the HbA1c reduction in patients with type 2 diabetes and different research results have been analyzed.

Empirical findings

The results in the study show that Physical activity which includes advice aerobic exercise, resistance training, or both is associated with lower HbA1c, but only when combined with dietary advice. The adult participants in the research showed positive changes which indicate that the hypothesis is correct and the null hypothesis was wrong. Patients who received structured exercise for about 150 minutes each week exhibited changes in the level of hemoglobin in their bodies. The research was done on adults who were 18 years old and above. The gender of the participants was randomly chosen and all participants were the ones who had been clinically tested for diabetes type 2 in a reliable medical institution.

Conclusion

The conclusion in the article is that adults aged above 18 years and above and who have diabetes type 2 can use structured exercises to reduce the level of glucose in the blood of the patients. The training has to be of over 150 minutes each week and it leads to reduced levels of HbA1c in the patients. The structured exercises are specific and the results are expected to be the same in all patients. Variations are expected to be minimal and a controlled exercise is intended to ensure there are a few differences as possible.

Critical Appraisal

As stated above, the analysis of the research shows that the use of structured exercises helps to reduce the level of HbA1c in the bodies of adults aged above 18 years. The results mimic the previous research results that had shown a close relationship between structured exercises and the level of glucose in the body of the patients. The analysis of the study shows that it is different from the others that do not analyze the impacts of the structured exercises but rather analyzes articles that are based on general exercises. The structured nature of exercises makes the article different from others that do not mention the exact types of exercise. The limited availability of studies is the main limitation to the research and in future, the study should be based on the other types of exercises apart from aerobic exercise and resistance training.

References

Umpierre, D., Ribeiro, P. A., Kramer, C. K., Leitao, C. B., Zucatti, A. T., Azevedo, M. J., ... & Schaan, B. D. (2011). Physical activity advice only or structured exercise training and association with HbA1c levels in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Jama, 305(17), 1790-1799.