[Adapted physical activity and patient education in the French diabetes networks]

A thorough questionnaire-based survey of French diabetes networks depicts an accurate description of the services they offer, in particular concerning physical activity. Often considered as less important than medicinal monitoring and dietetics, physical activity is at the core of a new professional dynamic. Practical sessions of adapted physical activity are presently offered in half the networks, as either one-time awareness-raising sessions or a complete series of sessions. Sports medicine educators seem to constitute an emerging professional group within a framework which aims to complement information provided to patients by skills-building through group sessions. Two distinct perspectives emerge as being linked to intervention methods: the first one aims to educate about physical activity, while the second aims to educate through physical activity.