EFFECTIVENESS OF RESISTANCE EXERCISE COMPARED TO AEROBIC IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A META-ANALYSIS

Background: Increasing life expectancy associated with a change in lifestyle with sedentary habits and high-calorie diets has contributed to the prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases, especially Diabetes Mellitus (DM). On the other hand, the relationship between regular physical activity, a proper diet, restriction in the use of tobacco and alcohol is being increasingly discussed and scientifically analyzed to improve the quality of life in patients with type 2 DM. Purpose: to evaluate the effectiveness of resistance exercise when compared to aerobic exercise without insulin therapy on metabolic and clinical outcomes in patients with Type 2 DM. Data Sources: a search was performed, without language restriction or temporal restriction, using the databases MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, LILACS and SCIELO. Study Selection: studies that compared resistance exercise to aerobic exercise on clinical and metabolic outcomes in adults with Type 2 DM who did not use insulin therapy were included. Data Extraction: the quality of evidence of the studies was performed by two reviewers independently and was analyzed to its methodological quality by Cochrane Handbook tool. Nine articles were included in this study, with a total of 336 individuals, aged 48- 58 years. The protocols of aerobic and resistance exercise varied in duration from eight to 22 weeks, 30-60 min/day, three to five times/week. Data Synthesis: there was an increase in VO2max, (Mean Difference: -2.52 ml/Kg.min; CI 95% - 3.64 a - 1.40) for the resistance exercise and no difference was found in HbA1c, BMI, HDL, LDL, triglycerides and total cholesterol. Limitations: Paucity of studies comparing aerobic with resistance exercise in patients with type 2 DM and the different exercise protocols. Conclusions: resistance exercise (22 weeks) appears to be more effective in promoting an increase in VO2max in diabetic patients. However, the effects of training protocols proved to be inconclusive in terms of supporting greater effectiveness in control of glycemic levels and lipid in this population.