Introduction: Diabetes is one the most common diseases caused by metabolic disorders and being a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, it is one of the most important public health problems. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of eight weeks of concurrent (aerobic-resistance) training on beta-endorphin and leptin levels in inactive women with type II diabetes.

Materials and Methods: We enrolled 13 postmenopausal women with type II diabetes (age: 57.92 ± 5.72 years and fat percentage: 43.17 ± 3.55) as the experimental group and nine postmenopausal women with type II diabetes as the control group (age: 55.14 ± 2.73 years, Fat percentage: 41.31 ± 3.38). The aerobic training program included 20 minutes of aerobic activity (by 60 to 80% of maximum heart rate) and the strength training program involved several upper and lower extremities (with an intensity of 55 to 75% of 1RM, 8 to 12 repetitions). To investigate the changes within and between groups repeated measures analysis of variance was used. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A significant increase was found in β-endorphin and leptin levels, VO2max, and strength, while body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BF%) had significantly decreased (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Considering that concurrent training induced a significant reduction in BMI and BF% and increased β-endorphin and leptin levels, it may decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases in type II diabetes patients.