Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding physical activity (PA) among patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that included diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia. A self-administered online questionnaire consisting of 22 questions was used to assess the knowledge and attitude of participants toward PA.
Results: A total of 610 patients with diabetes participated in the study. The participants’ age ranged from less than 40 to more than 60 years old. The majority of the participants (62.1%) were less than 40 years old. Men accounted for 75.6% of all study participants. More than one-third of the participants (39%) were obese, and 19% were overweight. All participants never consumed alcohol (100%). However, 60.8% of participants were current smokers. About half of the participants (47.2%) added salt when eating, and 33.3% consumed processed food. About half of all participants (53.6%) had poor knowledge of PA; however, the majority of them (82%) had a positive attitude toward PA. The knowledge of PA in diabetes was significantly associated with the attitude of diabetic patients toward PA.
Conclusion: There was insufficient knowledge and a positive attitude toward PA among patients with T2D in Saudi Arabia. The presence of multidisciplinary intensive education programs targeting T2DM patients might be helpful for the higher levels of knowledge among the study population. Thus, increasing the efforts toward education would improve the knowledge about the effect of PA in managing diabetes.

Key words: Knowledge, attitudes, physical activity, patients, diabetes.