EFFECTS OF DIFFERENCE IN AMOUNT OF EXERCISE TRAINING ON PREVENTION OF DIABETES-MELLITUS IN THE OTSUKA-LONG-EVANS-TOKUSHIMA FATTY RATS, A MODEL OF SPONTANEOUS NON-INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS

Exercise training every day has been shown to be effective in preventing the development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in a model rat (Otsuka Long Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF)). For determination of whether less vigorous exercise training also has a protective effect against the development of NIDDM in this model, seven male OLETF rats each were assigned to training every other day, every 3 days and every 7 days from 6 to 30 weeks of age. At 30 weeks of age, rats trained every other day, 3 days, 7 days and sedentary rats weighed averages of 547, 548, 603 and 695 g and had abdominal fat deposits of 28, 24, 32 and 72 g, respectively. The mean meterages of running of rats trained every other day, 3 days and 7 days over the whole experimental period were 9630, 5166 and 1685 m/week, respectively. At 30 weeks of age, the cumulative incidence of NIDDM in sedentary rats was 85.7% (6/7), while none of the trained rats became diabetic except for one of rats trained every 7 days. The glucose infusion rate (GIR), an index of insulin sensitivity, in the group trained every 7 days, 60.6 +/- 5.0 mu mol . kg(-1) . min(-1), was significantly greater than that in the sedentary group, 21.7 +/- 1.7 mu mol . kg(-1) . min(-1). Morphological studies on the pancreas of rats trained every other day and every 3 days showed minimal changes of islets, whereas sections of islets from rats trained every 7 days appeared enlarged and fibrotic, though significantly less so than the islets of sedentary rats. These results demonstrate that less vigorous exercise, such as once a week, is effective for reducing the incidence of NIDDM in this model.