The effect of exercise training and dietary alteration on health status in patients with T2DM

Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for several lifestyle diseases and therefore a worldwide health concern. A systematic review based on data from 122 countries describing the physical activity level worldwide states that the proportion of inactive people worldwide is 31%. New data from the National Health Survey on the Faroe Islands show similar trends for physical inactivity. Physical inactivity is one of the leading global risk factors for mortality (responsible for 6% of deaths globally), coming after high blood pressure (13%), tobacco use (9%) and high blood glucose (6%), and followed by overweight and obesity (5%).

Our main hypothesis is that exercise training combined with dietary alterations towards a caloric-restricted diet will improve general health status, blood glucose regulation and muscle metabolism in obese sedentary patients with T2DM, who are not yet treated with insulin administration. A secondary hypothesis is that hybrid-training (football) combining endurance, high-intensity interval and resistance training elicits superior effects compared to continuous low-to-moderate-intensity aerobic training.