BACKGROUND: Aerobic exercise can effectively reduce visceral fat. However, few studies have examined the effect of daily physical activity on obesity and cardiopulmonary function in the subjects with diabetes. We examined the effect of moderate intensity of walking in obese diabetes patients by monitoring of daily activity and measuring the change in abdominal fat area, muscle are and maximal muscle strength. METHODS: We randomly assigned 27 obese women with type 2 diabetes to an aerobic exercise group (AG, n = 13) and control group (CG, n = 14). The AG performed moderate intensity walking for 60 minutes per exercise, 5 times per week, and for 12 weeks. The activity energy expenditure was monitored by a multi-record accelerometer. The CG maintained routine daily activities. At the time of the initiation of the study and after 12 weeks of exercise, the aerobic exercise capacity was assessed using oxygen consumption rate at anaerobic threshold (VO2-AT). The abdominal fat area and the quadriceps muscle area were measured by computed tomography, and the maximum muscle strength of the upper and lower limbs was measured by a chest press and a leg press, respectively. RESULTS: The mean age of the study subjects was 56.6 +/- 8.0 years, the mean duration of diabetes was 6.3 +/- 6.0 years, and the body weight index (BMI) was 27.3 +/- 2.7 kg/m2. The BMI of the AG was significantly decreased (p = 0.003). In the AG, the visceral fat area and subcutaneous fat area were also significantly decreased (p = 0.018 and p < 0.001, respectively) but not in CG. VO2-AT of the AG was significantly improved, while that of the CG did not change (p = 0.009 and p = 0.115, respectively). The quadriceps muscle mass and the maximal muscle strength of the AG did not change, however, the CG showed a significant decrease. Duration of moderate intensity exercise was correlated with the decrease in total abdominal fat area (r = -0.484; p = 0.011) and that of high intensity exercise was correlated with improvement of cardiopulmonary function (r = 0.414; p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: Daily moderate intensity aerobic exercise is effective at reducing abdominal fat mass, while high intensity exercise improves cardiopulmonary function.

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