Alberta Diabetes and Physical Activity Trial

This project will assess the incremental and cumulative impact of three behavioural intervention strategies for the promotion of physical activity in the adult general population with Type 2 diabetes.

An increasing prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes is associated with the aging population, a significant rise in the prevalence of obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. In Canada, 4.9-7.0% over the age of 12 and 17% over the age of 64 are estimated to have diabetes, 90-95% of which will be Type 2. Strong evidence supports the importance of physical activity in the management of Type 2 Diabetes. However, current literature lacks clear understanding of best strategies for physical activity behaviour change in this target population. Existing studies employ resource intensive, one-to-one individual and clinically-based approaches with limited theoretical grounding for recommended health behaviour change. Most fail to offer practical, sustainable, economically viable solutions, with documented long-term intervention efficacy. The call to move beyond the clinical focus by including theoretically population-based and "real-life" approaches for the management Type 2 Diabetes remains largely unheeded. The three interventions are: (1) standard print-based physical activity educational materials provided by the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA); (2) CDA materials + pedometers and a log book + theoretical stage-matched print-based physical activity materials; and, (3) the same as intervention 2 with the addition of a 12-month physical activity telephone counseling protocol.