Barriers to physical activity among predominantly low-income African-American patients with type 2 diabetes

Physical activity is one of the most neglected aspects of the type 2 diapbetes treatment regimen (1). Environinental barriers may play a role (2), particularly among African-American patierits who report more physical activity barriers than Caucasians (3,4). African-American focus groups reported nurnerous barriers, including unsafe walking areas, transportation problems, lack of child care, peripheral neuropathy, and degenerative joint disease, some of which are not assessed by existing questionnaires (5,6). Despite these initial qualitative findings from focus groups, there is limited quantitative research addressing physical activity barriers specific to African-American or low-income diabetic samples. The current objective was to examine barriers reported by this population. The relationships between barriers and medical outcomes, demographic variables, and attitudes about exercise were examined.