NEW ORLEANS — Physical activity and fitness levels are low in individuals with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, compared with reference populations, Kate. J. Fitzsimons reported in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Baseline data from 155 men and 110 women enrolled in the Early Activity in Diabetes (Early ACTID) study—a randomized controlled trial comparing diet plus exercise with diet alone and usual care in adults with type 2 diabetes—were used in the analysis. Participants had a mean age of 58 years (range of 31–79 years) and had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the 5–8 months prior to study entry.
Habitual physical activity levels were measured using an accelerometer, which is a device that uses motion sensors to provide an objective measurement of physical activity. The device was worn by participants during all waking hours for 7 consecutive days.
Average activity volume in the participants, calculated as accelerometer counts per minute (cpm), was 238, and time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (based on an established cut point of 2,100 cpm that is equivalent to 2–5 miles per hour) averaged 21 minutes daily for both men and women, reported Ms. Fitzsimons, a doctoral student at the University of Bristol (England), and a member of the Early ACTID study team.
Activity volume in these Early ACTID participants was substantially lower than in overweight and obese nondiabetic participants in a prior University of Bristol study of daily physical activity patterns in 84 adults employed in sedentary occupations. For example, Early ACTID obese individuals (those with a body mass index of 30–39.9 kg/m
Furthermore, cardiorespiratory fitness levels in the Early ACTID participants, which were calculated for 210 participants who were not taking β-blockers, and which were assessed using a submaximal 1-mile track walk test on an indoor, level track, were also low in a majority of participants. Mean predicted maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max), which was predicted based on time taken to complete the walk test, heart rate at completion, weight, age, and gender, was 30 mL/kg per min for men and 21 mL/kg per min for women. Based on normative data from healthy populations, 61% of participants had a predicted VO2 max value considered poor or very poor, Ms. Fitzsimons noted.
When participants' physical activity levels were stratified based on body mass index, no differences were found on weekdays, but during weekends, obese individuals and morbidly obese individuals (BMI of 40 kg/m
Although improvements in physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness are believed to have importance in the management of type 2 diabetes, objective data regarding the levels of these factors in those with newly diagnosed disease have been lacking, Ms. Fitzsimons said.
“The low levels of physical activity and fitness in people in the early stages of type 2 diabetes support the use of interventions aimed at increasing physical activity and improving fitness,” she wrote.