A quasi-experimental research aimed at examining effects of an Arm Swing Exercise (ASE) Program on capillary plasma glucose (CPG) and body composition in persons with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes in community.
Methods:
Participants, recruited following the inclusion criteria and randomly selected, were twenty-four persons with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes without serious complications from a Sub-district Health Promoting Hospital, Suphanburi province, Thailand. The ASE Program based on self-efficacy theory for promoting self-efficacy perception to perform exercise consisted of knowledge of ASE, demonstration and return demonstration of ASE, assignment to perform ASE at least 30 minutes a day 5 times a week for 12 weeks at home, telephone follow-up and group discussion. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and measurements of capillary plasma glucose and body composition (body mass index, visceral fat, and skeletal muscle) at baseline, 8th week, and 13th week. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA.
Results:
The findings showed that 62.5% participants were female and 37.5% participants were male. A majority of participants as 91.7% graduated primary school. The average age of participant was 58.38 (SD 8.87) years, and they were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for 6.83 (SD 4.94) years. After the ASE program, persons with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes had visceral fat at 13th week significantly lower than 8th week (p-value < 0.05) and skeletal muscle at 13th week higher than 8th week (p-value < 0.05). However, CPG and body mass index of persons with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes had no significantly difference during the program.
Conclusion:
Implementation of the Arm Swing Exercise program could be more effective for improving body composition when persons with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes continuously perform for at least twelve weeks. Therefore, the ASE program should be widely utilized by health personnel to prevent complications and enhance quality of life.