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Pedometer-based supervised walking benefited adults with type 2 diabetes
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Supervised walking using a pedometer could improve quality of life for patients with type 2 diabetes, according to research published in the Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders.
The motivation provided by the supervised pedometer-based program proved helpful to patients in achieving step counts in a study of Asian Indians at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India.
Ruchika Guglani, a PhD research fellow in sports medicine and physiotherapy, and colleagues recruited 102 patients (28 women, 74 men) with type 2 diabetes aged 40 to 70 years to a cohort study to assess the impact of two goal-setting pedometer-based walking programs.
Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups — supervised exercise group with pedometer (Group A), self-reported exercise group with pedometer (Group B) and a control group (Group C) — and followed for 16 weeks.
Patients responded to the Audit of Diabetes Dependent Quality of Life questionnaire and Well-Being Questionnaire-12 at baseline and the end of study. Paired t tests were used within groups to compare all parameters at the same time points.
Between-group differences were compared using analysis of variance; statistical difference was further analyzed in a post-hoc analysis using the Bonferroni method.
Among the questionnaire subgroups, the domain “freedom to eat” had the highest negative impact; other domains adversely affected by diabetes included “leisure activity,” “do physically,” “physical appearance,” “self-confidence,” “future” and “financial situation.”
Patients in Group A demonstrated reductions in all domains except long-distance journey (P<.05). Patients in Group B showed reductions in all domains except long-distance journey, sex life and living condition.
“The results of this study clearly imply that 30 to 40 minutes per day/session of moderate-intensity walking with pedometer is an effective method for the sedentary type 2 diabetes individuals to enhance quality of life,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: This study was funded by the University Grant Commission, New Delhi.
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