Barriers to Physical Activity Among Predominantly Low-Income African- American Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Physical activity is one of the most neglected aspects of the type 2 diabetes treatment regimen (1). Environmental barriers may play a role (2), particularly among African-American patients who report more physical activity barriers than Caucasians (3,4). African-American focus groups reported numerous barriers, including unsafe walking areas, transportation problems, lack of child care, peripheral neuropathy, and degenerative joint disease, some of which are not assessed by existing questionnaires (5,6). Despite these initial qualitative findings from focus groups, there is limited quantitative research addressing physical activity barriers specific to African-American or low-income diabetic samples. The current objective was to examine barriers reported by this population. The relationships between barriers and medical outcomes, demographic variables, and attitudes about exercise were examined. Participants included 105 adult patients with type 2 diabetes attending primary care appointments. The clinic was affiliated with a public teaching hospital providing care to predominantly low-income African-American patients. Patients were approached in the waiting room before appointments. After obtaining informed consent, study personnel administered demographic and diabetes history questionnaires. They assessed 35 perceived barriers to physical activity, which were taken from several …