The effect of a long-term, community-based exercise program on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a community-based exercise program on bone mineral density and body composition in postmenopausal women with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Twenty postmenopausal women (aged 61.3 ± 6.0 years) with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to a community-based exercise program group (n=10) or a control group (n=10). The community-based exercise program was multicomponent, three days per week for 32 weeks, and included walking, resistance and aquatic exercises. Body composition and bone mineral density were measured pre and post-training by dual X-ray absorptiometry. In the exercise group significant increases were found in the ward's triangle bone mineral density (+7.8%, p=0.043), and in fat-free mass (+2.4%, p=0.018). The findings suggest that regular multicomponent training is effective in preventing osteoporosis and sarcopenia among postmenopausal women with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.