Aerobic Fitness and Adherence to Guideline-Recommended Minimum Physical Activity Among Ambulatory Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVE Lifestyle intervention remains the cornerstone of management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, adherence to physical activity (PA) recommendations and the impact of that adherence on cardiorespiratory fitness in this population have been poorly described. We sought to investigate adherence to PA recommendations and its association with cardiorespiratory fitness in a population of patients with T2DM. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomized clinical trial (NCT00424762) was performed. A total of 150 individuals with medically treated T2DM and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) or risk factors for ASCVD were recruited from outpatient clinics at a single academic medical center. All individuals underwent a graded maximal exercise treadmill test to exhaustion with breath-by-breath gas exchange analysis to determine VO2peak. PA was estimated using a structured 7-Day Physical Activity Recall interview. RESULTS Participants had a mean ± SD age of 54.9 ± 9.0 years; 41% were women, 40% were black, and 21% were Hispanic. The mean HbA1c was 7.7 ± 1.8% and the mean BMI, 34.5 ± 7.2 kg/m2. A total of 72% had hypertension, 73% had hyperlipidemia, and 35% had prevalent ASCVD. The mean ± SD reported daily PA was 34.3 ± 4 kcal/kg, only 7% above a sedentary state; 47% of the cohort failed to achieve the minimum recommended PA. Mean ± SD VO2peak was 27.4 ± 6.5 mL/kg fat-free mass/min (18.8 ± 5.0 mL/kg/min). CONCLUSIONS On average, patients with T2DM who have or are at risk for ASCVD report low levels of PA and have low measured cardiopulmonary fitness. This underscores the importance of continued efforts to close this therapeutic gap.