Exercise practice and habitual physical activity levels in patients with type 2 diabetes: A pilot study in Portugal

Objectives: To characterize exercise practice and levels of habitual physical activity (PA) of patients with type 2 diabetes and examine the influence of exercise practice and sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, residential area and employment status in Habitual PA and its components. Type of Study: Observational, cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. Local: Cova da Beira Hospital Centre, Diabetology Consultation, Covilha, Portugal. Population: One hundred and one patients with type 2 diabetes followed in hospital diabetology consultation. Methods: International Physical Activity Questionnaire and a questionnaire about exercise habits and its main characteristics were applied during clinical interview. Results: The prevalence of regular exercise practice was 40.59%. Only 2.44% of the practitioners reported practicing a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance exercise. When evaluating Habitual PA levels, 34.65% had a low level, 43.56% had a moderate level and 21.78% had a high level. No significant differences were identified in Habitual PA between practitioners and non-practitioners of exercise. It was observed a significant negative correlation betweenAge and Habitual PA and betweenAge and Daily Life PA. Significant differences were identified in Habitual PA between rural and urban residents and significant differences in Habitual PA and Daily Life PA between professionally active and non-active individuals. Conclusions: Prevalence of exercise practice and Habitual PA levels of portuguese patients with type 2 diabetes are far from sufficient. Practicing exercise is not synonym of having a minimally healthy Habitual PA. Ageing, living in urban areas and the loss of professional activity appear to be risk factors for a sedentary lifestyle and important intervention targets. (C) 2012 Sociedade Portuguesa de Endocrinologia, Diabetes e Metabolismo. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.