title: Physical activity level and exercise in patients with diabetes mellitus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare physical activity level (PAL) and care related to exercise in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).
  
  
  METHODS
  DM outpatients (adult, insulin-user patients) were assessed for PAL (international questionnaire; moderate- and high-level activities, as well as walking, over a typical week) and questioned about formal exercise practice, self-care, and hypoglycemic episodes related to exercise or reasons for not exercising.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred twenty five patients were assessed: 107 (47.6%) had type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and 118 (52.4%) had type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1), with a larger percentage of patients with DM2 being classified as poorly active [33 (30.7%) versus 12 (10.3%)] and a lower percentage being classified as highly active [9 (8.7%) versus 29 (25%)], compared with patients having DM1. Patients who do not exercise (n = 140) gave different reasons for not doing so: patients with DM2 claimed that they "felt uncomfortable", "presented medical restrictions", and "did not like it"; DM1 patients claimed that they "had no time to exercise", "were lazy", and "had hypoglycemic episodes". Only 85 patients exercised regularly, regardless of the PAL, and 38.8% performed self-care, such as eating, stretching, and capillary glucose monitoring. Patients with DM2 [5 (14.3%)] reported a lower number of hypoglycemic episodes related to exercise than those with DM1 [17 (34%)].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with DM2 have different PAL and behavior related to exercise than those seen in DM1 patients.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. camila.kummel@gmail.com
authors.forename: Camila Kümmel
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Jussara Carnevale de
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Aline Juliana Schneider
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Merker
authors.forename: Fabiane de Oliveira
authors.initials: Fde O
authors.lastname: Brauer
authors.forename: Ticiana da Costa
authors.initials: Tda C
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000523:psychology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000503:physiopathology; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires