Effect of Exercise on Fasting Blood Glucose and Oral Glucose Tolerance Tests In Offspring of Type 2 Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Parents

Objectives: It is uncertain if exercise could influence the occurrence of T2DM in offspring of diabetic parents. Therefore this study was designed to assess the effect of exercise on fasting blood glucose and oral Glucose Tolerance Test on offspring of T2DM parents compared with offspring of non-diabetic parents. Design: This study involved selection of 10 offspring of T2DM parents attending University College Hospital, Ibadan and 10 offspring of non-diabetic parents who are undergraduate students of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Participants were randomly assigned into four groups: 5 Normal-weight Offspring of Non-Diabetic Parents (NONDP), 5 Normal-weight Offspring of Diabetic Parents (NODP), 5 Overweight Offspring of NonDiabetic Parents (OONDP) and 5 Overweight Offspring of Diabetic Parents (OODP). Each participant followed a protocol of graded exercise using the tummy trimmer everyday spending 30-45 minutes daily for 24 weeks. Blood samples were obtained after an overnight fasting for determination of fasting blood glucose using standard methods at baseline, six week, 12 week, 18 week and 24 week, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistic and repeated ANOVA with significant at P<0.05. Results: At baseline, Oral GTT were also carried out before the beginning of exercise and repeated at the end of 24 weeks of exercise. There were reductions though not significant in fasting blood glucose (mg/dL) viz in NONDP: 91.00±3.71to 84.50±3.34, NODP: 100.67±3.75to88.17±0.75, OONDP:93.67±5.82 to87.17±4.98 and OODP 90.83±5.25to82.83±2.37 at 24weeks. Conclusions: Graded exercise reduced fasting blood glucose in all the groups. The clinical importance of graded exercise in prevention of diabetes mellitus among offspring of diabetic parents is a useful intervention.