Awareness of Patients with Metabolic Diseases of the Importance of Physical Activity in Treating Their Disorders

Abstract

Non-communicable chronic diseases, including metabolic diseases, represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Regular physical activity is considered a crucial component of improving the health condition of people suffering from metabolic diseases. Prescription of physical activity by the general physician or other medical specialist can influence patientsˈ behaviour in a significant way. Objective: To get acquainted with the fulfilment of recommendations for performing physical activities by patients with metabolic diseases. Methods: The study group consisted of 407 patients diagnosed with some of the metabolic diseases. One of the important criteria for inclusion in the study was the fact that the diagnosis did not prevent performance of physical activity. To obtain the research data we used the questionnaire method - a questionnaire compiled for the needs of this particular research. Results: Patients involved in our study, in the prevention and treatment of their health problems, put particular emphasis on nutrition and eating habits. In terms of priorities, physical activity is only ranking third in this respect. The vast majority of patients involved in the study had been informed about the importance of purposeful physical activity by physicians; however, nearly half of the patients admitted their lack of willingness to carry out any form of it. The most common activities that patients undertake are domestic chores and walks. Conclusions: The data obtained suggest that some patients are not sufficiently physically active, a number of them are not even aware of the role and importance of physical activity in the treatment of their disease. There are even patients who do not consider such information relevant. This study was supported by Grant project 1/0825/17 «Recommendations for physical activities in prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and their implementation in the eastern part of Slovakia», implemented at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice.