Abstract
Purpose: Insulin
resistance plays a key role in the onset and development of type 2 diabetes
mellitus (T2DM) and its complications. In this study, we evaluated the effect
of swim training on insulin resistance in diabetic rats.
Methods: Forty male
Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=10): sedentary control
(Con), sedentary diabetic (Dia), swim trained control (Exe) and swim trained
diabetic (Dia+Exe) rats. Diabetes was induced by high fat diet (HFD) and a low
dose of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg, i.p). In trained groups, one week after the
induction of diabetes, animals were subjected to swimming (60 min/5 days a
week) for 10 weeks. At the end of training, fasting blood sugar (FBS), oral
glucose tolerance test (OGTT), fasting/basal insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin
(HbA1c) levels, insulin resistance index, homeostasis model assessment method
(HOMA-IR), triglycerides (TG,) total cholesterol (TCh), and high density
lipoprotein (HDL) levels in blood were measured.
Results: Swimming
significantly improved OGTT (P<0.01) and HOMA-IR (P<0.01). Swim training
also significantly decreased FBS (p<0.01), fasting/basal insulin
(P<0.01), HbA1C (p<0.01), TG (P<0.05), and TCh (P<0.05) levels. It
also significantly increased HDL (p<0.05) level.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that swim training improved
glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes caused by high fat
diet in male rats.