Background: About 3 million (3-5 percent) of Iranian population have diabetes mellitus. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of physical activity training on the participants’ health indexes (fast blood sugar, HBA1c, body mass index, lipids of blood, pulse rate and blood pressure) based on the transtheoretical model (a kind of behavior change model) among type 2 diabetic patients in 2007.
Material and methods: In this quasi-experimental study with a before and after design, 32 patients with type 2 diabetes who were the member of the Iranian Diabetes Society were selected according to the inclusion criteria by non-probable (simple) sampling. Data regarding to the participants’ health indexes and physical activity were collected based on questionnaire, interview and observation methods before and after 1.5 and 3 months physical activity training sessions.
Results: Some health indexes of the participants, including FBS, HBA1c, TG, LDL, were improved significantly after 3 months of the study (P<0.05) which demonstrates the positive effect of doing exercises on patients. Moreover, the quality of doing each exercise was also significantly improved (P<0.05). Based on the transtheoretical model the stages of patients’ physical activity were improved and most of them were categorized in the maintenance stage after 3 months.
Conclusion: This study confirms the positive impact of physical activity training on the participants’ health indexes based on the transtheoretical model among type 2 diabetic patients and recommends doing exercise regularly.