Background
and Objective: Visfatin is a
recently discovered adipokine. Previous studies have shown a direct
relationship between plasma visfatin levels and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The current study was conducted to
investigate the effect of aerobic exercise on
plasma level of visfatin in type 2 diabetic men treated with metformin. Materials
and Methods: Thirty-six men with type 2
diabetes who consumed metformin (age 46.08 ± 3.08 years, BMI 30.1± 2.32 kg/m2)
volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects were randomly assigned in 2
groups. In this respect, 18 subjects were in the aerobic exercise group (3 days
per week, 35 to 50 min per day, 40-55% heart rate reserve) and 18 subjects in
the control group. Fasting plasma visfatin, insulin, glucose and HbA1c
concentrations were measured
before and after 8 weeks of exercise in these diabetic patients. For analysis
of data, repeated measures ANOVA was used. Results: The findings showed that plasma visfatin level, insulin, glucose,
HbA1c, BMI, WHR and body fat percentage significantly decrease in
aerobic exercise group as compared to control group (p < 0.05). The peak rate
​​of oxygen consumption (vo2 peak) significantly increased in aerobic exercise
group as compared to control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The present study showed that decreased plasma visfatin level induced
by aerobic exercise is most likely the result of improving glycemic status in
type 2 diabetes patients treated with metformin.