Improvement of pulmonary function with arm swing exercise in patients with type 2 diabetes

[Purpose] Obesity and hyperglycemia play roles in the impairment of pulmonary function intype 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Low-intensity exercise is known to reduce bodyfat and improve hyperglycemia. The arm swing exercise (ASE), a low-intensity exercise, iseasy and convenient to perform without any equipment and is suitable for daily practice.Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of ASE on lung function and obesity inoverweight T2DM patients. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-four subjects continued theirdaily life routines for 8 weeks (control period), and then performed ASE for 8 weeks (30minutes per day, 3 days per week) (ASE period). Pulmonary function tests were performed,and fasting blood glucose, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), lipid profiles, high-sensitiveC-reactive protein (HSCRP), insulin concentration, and anthropometric parameters weremeasured before and after each period. [Results] After the ASE period, the forced vitalcapacity, forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration, and maximalvoluntary ventilation were increased when compared with after the control period. HbA1c, alow-density lipoprotein, malondialdehyde, oxidized glutathione, and the percent body fatwere significantly decreased when compared with after the control period. However, otherparameters, such as lung volume, anthropometric parameters, and fasting blood glucose,insulin, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, total cholesterol and glutathioneconcentrations, showed no differences between the two periods. [Conclusion] These datasuggest that there is improvement of pulmonary functions in T2DM patients after ASEtraining.Key words: Physical activity, Pulmonary functions, Fatness