Behavioral intervention ups physical activity in T2DM

(HealthDay)—A behavioral intervention results in a sustained increase in physical activity and decrease in sedentary time among patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the March 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Stefano Balducci, M.D., from "La Sapienza" University in Rome, and colleagues enrolled 300 physically inactive and sedentary patients with type 2 diabetes to receive a behavioral intervention or standard of care for three years. One individual theoretical counseling session and eight biweekly theoretical and practical counseling sessions were provided each year to participants in the behavioral intervention group. In the standard care group, participants received only general physician recommendations.

Participants were followed for a median of 3.0 years. The researchers found that in the behavioral intervention and standard care groups, respectively, participants accumulated 13.8 and 10.5 metabolic equivalent-hours per week of physical activity volume, 18.9 and 12.5 minutes/day of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, 4.6 and 3.8 hours/day of light-intensity physical activity, and 10.9 and 11.7 hours/day of sedentary time. Throughout the study, the significant between-group differences were maintained; during the third year, the between-group difference in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity decreased.

"This behavioral intervention strategy was successful in increasing physical activity volume by reallocating sedentary time to light-intensity physical activity and, to a lesser extent, moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.