Lifestyle actIvity correlates For diabEtics (LIFE)

Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) has been shown to have numerous benefits in patients living with type 2 diabetes. However, in order to achieve these benefits, it is recommended that people living with type 2 diabetes accumulate at least 150 minutes of MVPA per week. Unfortunately, studies are inconsistent regarding whether a gender difference exists in MVPA levels for these patients using self-reported PA measures. Further, regardless of the potential gender MVPA disparity, research in type 2 diabetes patients has also neglected the importance of identifying common and gender-specific MVPA correlates that are needed to inform PA intervention development. Thefore, the present project has 5 objectives: (1) to determine the total number of minutes of MVPA in 141 male and 141 female patients living diabetes for a 1-week period using an objective PA measure, (2) to map "where" patients are expending the total number of minutes of MVPA by linking accelerometry measures with a global positioning system (GPS) overall and by gender, (3) to examine the association between the time spent in MVPA and the MVPA location characteristics (i.e., the socioeconomic status, urban vs. rural, and access to MVPA opportunities associated with each MVPA location) overall and by gender, (4) to determine if the MVPA location characteristics (i.e., environmental) interact with the (a) intrapersonal (e.g., self-efficacy), (b) interpersonal (e.g., social support from family), and (c) institutional (e.g., perceived quality of care) levels of the social ecological model in the same way for male and female patients, and (5) to build capacity across Nova Scotia pertaining to MVPA issues via hosting a forum in each site's community that involves the research team as well as patients, family / friends, healthcare practitioners, and community stakeholders.