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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2017 Jul 1;108(4):355–361. doi: 10.17269/CJPH.108.5954

Correlates of accelerometer-assessed physical activity and sedentary time among adults with type 2 diabetes

Nonsikelelo Mathe 14,24,34, Terry Boyle 44,54,64, Fatima Al Sayah 24, Clark Mundt 24, Jeff K Vallance 14, Jeffrey A Johnson 24, Steven T Johnson 14,24,✉
PMCID: PMC6972170  PMID: 29120305

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to describe the volume and patterns of objectively assessed sedentary behaviour, light intensity physical activity (LPA) and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and to examine socio-demographic correlates, among adults living with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS: Participants (n = 166) wore an accelerometer (Actigraph® GT3X+) for seven consecutive days during waking hours and completed a questionnaire. Physical activity (PA) and sedentary time were described, and multivariable linear regression was used to estimate associations between socio¬demographic characteristics and sedentary time and PA.

RESULTS: Participants, 46% of whom were female, had a mean age of 65.4 years (standard deviation (SD) = 9.5), body mass index (BMI) of 31.5 (6.6) kg/m1 2 and had been living with diabetes for an average of 13.1 (7.6) years. Participants were sedentary for 543.6 minutes/day, spent 273.4 minutes/day and 22.4 minutes/day in LPA and MVPA respectively. BMI was associated with increased sedentary time and reduced LPA (-2.5 minutes/day, 95% CI: -4.33 to -0.70) and MVPA (-0.62 minutes/day, 95% CI: -1.05 to -0.18) time. Compared with males, females had more LPA (34.4 minutes/day, 95% CI: 10.21-58.49) and less MVPA (-6.2 minutes/day, 95% CI: -12.04 to -0.41) time. Unemployed participants had 30.05 minutes more MVPA (95% CI: 3.35-56.75) than those who were employed or homemakers, and those not reporting income had 13 minutes/day more MVPA time than participants in the lowest income category (95% CI: 3.46-22.40).

CONCLUSION: Adults living with type 2 diabetes were not sufficiently active and were highly sedentary. Our results emphasize the need for more research exploring the diabetes-related health outcomes of sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity among people living with type 2 diabetes.

Key Words: Accelerometer, sedentary behaviour, physical activity, diabetes mellitus, type 2

Mots Clés: accéléromètre, comportement sédentaire, activité physique, diabète de type 2

Footnotes

Acknowledgements: Colleagues in the Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research involved in the Alberta Caring for Diabetes Cohort study.

Funding Sources: Research reported in this work was supported by grants from Alberta Health, the Lawson Foundation, and an Emerging Team Grant to the Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes (ACHORD) (reference #: OTG-88588), sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes. Terry Boyle is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Early Career Fellowship #1072266), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Fellowship #300068), the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (Postdoctoral Fellowship #5553), and the Killam Trusts (Honorary Postdoctoral Research Fellowship). Jeff Vallance is supported by the Canada Research Chairs program and a Population Health Investigator Award from Alberta Innovates-Health Solutions.

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

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