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 Research suggests that impaired mobility and
balance among obese older adults with type 2 diabetes
may be related to their low muscle power, which results from their
inability to quickly contract their muscles.
In a study of older obese adults with type 2 diabetes, there was a
strong relationship between muscle
power or speed and poor mobility and balance, study co-author Rhonda
Orr, a lecturer at the University of Sydney, said.
Those individuals with lower muscle power and
slower muscle speed had greater balance and mobility impairment.
The study also shows that older obese type 2 diabetics can benefit
from low-intensity, low-impact tai chi exercises
as well as from regular stretching and calisthenics.
“Our tai chi program was just as effective as gentle stretching or
calisthenics in improving balance and mobility,
but not effective in improving muscle function in our cohort,” said
Orr. She noted that “improving muscle contraction
speed or power may be more appropriate interventions to gain
improvements in balance and mobility”.
In the study, 38 men and women with type 2 diabetes were randomly
assigned to tai chi exercises or seated calisthenics
and stretching.
The participants, who were about 65 years old, participated in
55-minute exercise sessions twice a week for 16 weeks.
At the end of the study period, participants in both exercise groups
experienced improvements in their
balance and walking speed.
Men and women who participated in tai chi exercises showed improved
mobility, but their improvements were no greater than
that found among men and women in the comparison group.
The reason for the lack of greater benefit among the tai chi
participants may be because the high prevalence of obesity
and osteoarthritis among the study participants “may have
compromised an optimal training style”, Orr and
her co-authors suggest.
Or perhaps the dose or movements incorporated into the tai chi program were not sufficient to elicit a stronger
response.
Overall, balance was most improved among men and women with poorer
quality of life at the start
of the study, whereas better health, muscle function and exercise
capacity at the start of the
study were associated with increased walking speeds by the study’s
end.
In particular, lower levels of blood glucose and less body fat at
the start of the study were associated with improved walking speeds
over time.
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