Remedial actions for the physical inactivity of hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes

Physical inactivity is often suspected in hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes but has yet to be quantified.

We measured the level of physical activity of 36 hospitalized (H) and 36 free-living nonhospitalized (NH) type 2 diabetic subjects with actimeters (SenseWear Arm-Band).

The number of steps (H: 4,381 +/- 3,742 steps/24 h, NH: 7,220 +/- 4,763 steps/24 h; P < 0.01), duration of physical activity (H: 45 +/- 57 min/24 h, NH: 148 +/- 116 min/24 h; P < 0.005), and physical activity expenditure (H: 287 +/- 390 kcal/24 h, NH: 1,035 +/- 1,006 kcal/24 h; P < 0.005) were two- to threefold lower in the hospitalized patients. Simple advice enabled us to increase their recorded levels of physical activity by approximately 50% (P < 0.005), and a further 50% (P < 0.05) was obtained by the use of a pedometer.

The physical inactivity of hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes is significant and remediable, although the advice given must take into account the existence of sensory neuropathy and silent myocardial ischemia.