Scientists from Thailand and Austria worked together in a recent study to evaluate the effects of an 8-week Qigong exercise training on exercise performance and oxidative stress responses in sedentary middle-aged and elderly women suffering from type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM).
In this quasi-experimental design, placebo-controlled study, 20 sedentary middle-aged and elderly women with T2DM allocated to Qigong exercise and another 20 to the control group.
The results, appear in the September 2023 issue of Journal of integrative and complementary medicine, show that leg strength and trunk flexibility were improved after Qigong training and changes were significantly different compared with the control group. VO2 max predicted, 6-min walking distance, and walking intensity were all increased, and oxidative stress markers were diminished after Qigong training. The antioxidant/oxidant balance was improved after Qigong training.
The findings indicate that 8 weeks of Qigong training significantly improved leg strength and trunk flexibility in middle-aged and elderly women with T2DM, partly associated with a more favorable antioxidant/oxidant balance. These effects may beneficially impact on health in this specific population.
