Supervised Exercise Patterns among Diabetic and Non-diabetic Portuguese Adults

Background. Physical activity (PA) is a keystone of diabetes management, but although self-exercise is beneficial, supervised exercise (SE), adapted to individual characteristics, and is more effective. Objectives. The main research goal is to compare SE patterns among diabetic and non-diabetic Portuguese adults. Methods. A total of 484 participants (85 diabetics, 399 non-diabetics), aged 41-90 years old (mean=58.9; SD=11.9) were interviewed. PA level was assessed using short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Attendance in different SE programs was evaluated across three kinds of PA programs providers: gym/health-clubs; swimming pools and other club/ sports facilities. Itens like Barriers to Exercise; Intention to participate; Importance of the structure and PA information sources were also evaluated. Independent t-tests were used to examine the difference between the group means, and Levene’s test was used to check the homokedasticity of the groups’ variances. Results. PA level of diabetics (32% low; 25% moderate; 44% high) and non-diabetics (29% low; 33% moderate; 39% high) display no differences. 90% of diabetics do not attend SE. The main barrier for diabetics’ non-participation is the perception that the exercise is not adequate to their health. Doctors are the preferred information source for diabetics and they rely less on information provided by the Internet, with may impair on-line campaigns. Conclusion. Promoting exercise in diabetics should shift the focus from "promoting physical activity" to "promoting SE".