The Effect of High Intensity Interval Training Compared to mediation on QUICKI, McAuley, HOMA-IR Indices, Glycemic Indices, and Lipid Profile in Women with Type 2 Diabetes

The increasing use of non-pharmacological treatment methods such as exercise and meditation in the management of diabetes is very important to improve the physical and mental condition of diabetic patients. The purpose of present study was to investigate the effect of high intensity interval training (HIIT) vs. meditation on insulin sensitivity indices, glycemic indices, and lipid profile in women with type 2 diabetes.

30 middle-aged diabetic women were randomly assigned and divided into three group include HIIT, meditation, and control. Serum glucose, insulin, Glycated hemoglobin, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were measured fasting 48 hours before and after the intervention. Insulin sensitivity and resistance indices were calculated based on formulas. HIIT was carried out for 12 weeks and three sessions per week and meditation for 12 weeks and all days of the week. For between-group comparison, Two-way Mixed ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc test were used, and paired T-test was used for analysis of within-group differences.

QUICKI, McAuley, HOMA-IR, glucose, insulin, glycated hemoglobin, and lipid profile showed a significant improvement in the HIIT group compared to the control group (P≤0.05). Furthermore, fasting glucose, QUICKI, and HOMA-IR in the HIIT group had a significant improvement compared to the meditation group (P≤0.05). The meditation group also significantly improved HOMA-IR, insulin, and HDL compared to the control group (P≤0.05).

The findings of the present study showed that both HIIT and meditation could improve insulin sensitivity and resistance, some glycemic indices and lipid profile in women with type 2 diabetes. However, the effectiveness of HIIT was more pronounced than meditation in most variables. To gain a better understanding of the efficiency of both methods, more research is necessary.