Skip to main content
PMC home page
Postgraduate Medical Journal logoLink to Postgraduate Medical Journal
. 2004 May;80(943):287–291. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.2003.010553

Barriers to physical activity in patients with diabetes

N Thomas 1, E Alder 1, G Leese 1
PMCID: PMC1742997  PMID: 15138320

Abstract

Purpose: Two questions were addressed: (1) How much physical activity do patients with diabetes perform? (2) What are the perceived factors that prevent patients from doing more physical activity?

Research design and methods: Interview based questionnaires were distributed to consecutive patients attending the Diabetes Clinic, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee over a period of five months. Exclusion criteria were age below 20 years and inadequate understanding of English; 428 questionnaires were given out with 406 completed.

Results: Physical activity was undertaken by 34% of patients with diabetes and only 9% of these patients exercised sufficiently to achieve a large change in heart rate or breathing. The main reasons for inactivity included perceived difficulty taking part in exercise, feelings of tiredness, and being distracted by something good on television. Lack of time and lack of local facilities also contributed.

Conclusions: Few patients with diabetes participate in physical activity, and in those who do the level of intensity is low. There are many modifiable factors distracting patients from exercise.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (146.1 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Albright A., Franz M., Hornsby G., Kriska A., Marrero D., Ullrich I., Verity L. S. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and type 2 diabetes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 Jul;32(7):1345–1360. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200007000-00024. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aljasem L. I., Peyrot M., Wissow L., Rubin R. R. The impact of barriers and self-efficacy on self-care behaviors in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Educ. 2001 May-Jun;27(3):393–404. doi: 10.1177/014572170102700309. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Berlin J. A., Colditz G. A. A meta-analysis of physical activity in the prevention of coronary heart disease. Am J Epidemiol. 1990 Oct;132(4):612–628. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115704. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Blair S. N., Kohl H. W., 3rd, Paffenbarger R. S., Jr, Clark D. G., Cooper K. H., Gibbons L. W. Physical fitness and all-cause mortality. A prospective study of healthy men and women. JAMA. 1989 Nov 3;262(17):2395–2401. doi: 10.1001/jama.262.17.2395. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Boulé N. G., Haddad E., Kenny G. P., Wells G. A., Sigal R. J. Effects of exercise on glycemic control and body mass in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. JAMA. 2001 Sep 12;286(10):1218–1227. doi: 10.1001/jama.286.10.1218. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dishman R. K., Sallis J. F., Orenstein D. R. The determinants of physical activity and exercise. Public Health Rep. 1985 Mar-Apr;100(2):158–171. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Egede Leonard E., Zheng Deyi. Modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in adults with diabetes: prevalence and missed opportunities for physician counseling. Arch Intern Med. 2002 Feb 25;162(4):427–433. doi: 10.1001/archinte.162.4.427. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ford E. S., Herman W. H. Leisure-time physical activity patterns in the U.S. diabetic population. Findings from the 1990 National Health Interview Survey--Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Supplement. Diabetes Care. 1995 Jan;18(1):27–33. doi: 10.2337/diacare.18.1.27. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Fox K. R. The influence of physical activity on mental well-being. Public Health Nutr. 1999 Sep;2(3A):411–418. doi: 10.1017/s1368980099000567. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gu K., Cowie C. C., Harris M. I. Diabetes and decline in heart disease mortality in US adults. JAMA. 1999 Apr 14;281(14):1291–1297. doi: 10.1001/jama.281.14.1291. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Haennel Robert G., Lemire Francine. Physical activity to prevent cardiovascular disease. How much is enough? Can Fam Physician. 2002 Jan;48:65–71. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hays L. M., Clark D. O. Correlates of physical activity in a sample of older adults with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 1999 May;22(5):706–712. doi: 10.2337/diacare.22.5.706. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hillsdon M., Thorogood M., Anstiss T., Morris J. Randomised controlled trials of physical activity promotion in free living populations: a review. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1995 Oct;49(5):448–453. doi: 10.1136/jech.49.5.448. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ivy J. L., Zderic T. W., Fogt D. L. Prevention and treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 1999;27:1–35. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kirk A. F., Higgins L. A., Hughes A. R., Fisher B. M., Mutrie N., Hillis S., MacIntyre P. D. A randomized, controlled trial to study the effect of exercise consultation on the promotion of physical activity in people with Type 2 diabetes: a pilot study. Diabet Med. 2001 Nov;18(11):877–882. doi: 10.1046/j.0742-3071.2001.00570.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Knowler William C., Barrett-Connor Elizabeth, Fowler Sarah E., Hamman Richard F., Lachin John M., Walker Elizabeth A., Nathan David M., Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med. 2002 Feb 7;346(6):393–403. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa012512. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Morris A. D., Boyle D. I., MacAlpine R., Emslie-Smith A., Jung R. T., Newton R. W., MacDonald T. M. The diabetes audit and research in Tayside Scotland (DARTS) study: electronic record linkage to create a diabetes register. DARTS/MEMO Collaboration. BMJ. 1997 Aug 30;315(7107):524–528. doi: 10.1136/bmj.315.7107.524. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Nelson Karin M., Reiber Gayle, Boyko Edward J., NHANES III Diet and exercise among adults with type 2 diabetes: findings from the third national health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES III). Diabetes Care. 2002 Oct;25(10):1722–1728. doi: 10.2337/diacare.25.10.1722. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Pan X. R., Li G. W., Hu Y. H., Wang J. X., Yang W. Y., An Z. X., Hu Z. X., Lin J., Xiao J. Z., Cao H. B. Effects of diet and exercise in preventing NIDDM in people with impaired glucose tolerance. The Da Qing IGT and Diabetes Study. Diabetes Care. 1997 Apr;20(4):537–544. doi: 10.2337/diacare.20.4.537. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sallis J. F., Hovell M. F., Hofstetter C. R., Faucher P., Elder J. P., Blanchard J., Caspersen C. J., Powell K. E., Christenson G. M. A multivariate study of determinants of vigorous exercise in a community sample. Prev Med. 1989 Jan;18(1):20–34. doi: 10.1016/0091-7435(89)90051-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Tuomilehto J., Lindström J., Eriksson J. G., Valle T. T., Hämäläinen H., Ilanne-Parikka P., Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi S., Laakso M., Louheranta A., Rastas M. Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by changes in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. N Engl J Med. 2001 May 3;344(18):1343–1350. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200105033441801. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Weyer C., Linkeschowa R., Heise T., Giesen H. T., Spraul M. Implications of the traditional and the new ACSM physical activity recommendations on weight reduction in dietary treated obese subjects. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1998 Nov;22(11):1071–1078. doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0800728. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Postgraduate Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES