Effect of an Abdominal Muscle Strengthening Program on Blood Glucose Levels in Persons with Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes has become a global issue and epidemiological evidence suggests that effective control and prevention programmes are necessary to prevent escalation of the global diabetes burden. People with abdominal obesity are more prone for developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Abdominal obesity is seen to be closely associated with diabetes, but the effect of abdominal strengthening on blood sugar levels has not been studied so far. Aim: To study the effect of a prospectively effective abdominal strengthening protocol named Abdominals on noncommunicable diseases (ABON), on blood glucose levels and compare it with the effect of other general exercises. Materials and Methods: A pre-post experimental trial with control was conducted for 12 weeks on a 100 participants divided into two groups. Experimental Group A (n=50) underwent a regular abdominal muscle training protocol named ABON, containing a set of abdominal strengthening exercises. The control Group B (n=50) were instructed not to involve in any form of abdominal muscle training for three months and were taught to do breathing exercises, general body stretches, encouraged to do walking and continue regular lifestyle. The outcome measures were Random Blood Glucose (RBS) and Glycosylated Haemoglobin (HbA1C) obtained using the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. Results: Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that the experimental Group A had a significant difference (p<0.01) in both RBS and HbA1c with the values before and after treatment. Comparison of HbA1c and RBS values between the two groups using the Mann-Whitney U test, showed a significantly higher improvement in the experimental group in both the outcome measures when the differences before and after treatment were compared (p< 0.01). Conclusion: The abdominal training program ABON is a simple effective way in which blood glucose levels can be decreased, and can be used to control diabetes mellitus.

Keywords

• abdominal exercise
• abdominal obesity
• glycosylated haemoglobin