Feasibility and Safety of Walking Football in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

This work will be a quasi-experimental study where we aim to test the feasibility and safety of walking football in patients with T2D. The recruitment of participants will be held in primary health care units by Family Medicine medical doctors. All participants will receive instructions to maintain daily-life routines (lifestyle-related physical activity and dietary pattern), and to continue with usual care (diabetes consultations on primary health care units and pharmacological regimen) along the studies duration. All participants will receive basic sports material (sports bag, T-shirt, and sports shoes). Participants will be organized in two teams of 20 players. Each team will have 60-min walking football exercise sessions three times per week (non-consecutive days), during three months (36 sessions). Different walking football exercise strategies will be developed according to participants' motor skills and tested with dose-escalated intensity for its safety (acute effects on capillary glycaemia, blood pressure, foot impact, exercise-related injuries and adverse events) and enjoyment. Exercise intensity will range between light to vigorous. No submaximal or maximal exercises will be tested. Cumulative short-term effects will also be analyzed along the three months through pre- and post-study evaluations. Exercise sessions will be conducted on a sports hall (indoor court) by a football coach and supervised by an exercise physiologist and a nurse.