A few short meetings may help adults with diabetes plan activity and walk more

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   23 adults with type 2 diabetes and a body mass index of 25 or more. Their average age was about 57, and 16 of the 23 were women. They joined through an online volunteer list and campus notices. At the end, 21 people were measured.

2. 02

   What they did

   Both groups met a researcher four times over five weeks. One group set activity goals, planned their week, got support from others, and kept logs with a step counter. The other group heard about their activity levels and later got written advice and a step counter.

3. 03

   What happened

   At the end, the goal group rated themselves higher than the other group on every measure. Steps a day rose from about 4,600 to about 6,200 in the goal group, but barely moved in the other group. Minutes of moderate or hard activity fell in both groups, and the meetings did not change them. The group was very small, the paper ran no tests, and its numbers don't fully add up.

What the study found

1. HelpedTime management

   At the end, people in the goal group rated themselves as planning their time much better than the other group.

   • Action: Plan your weektested
   • Action: Track your progresstested
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Very small randomised trial of 23 adults with type 2 diabetes · vs people who only got information about their activity · they rated themselves · ⚠ results look too good to be true; numbers unreliable; summary claims more than the results show

2. HelpedGoals

   Steps a day rose from about 4,600 to 6,200 in the goal group, but barely moved in the other group.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Action: Track your progresstested
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Very small randomised trial of 23 adults with type 2 diabetes · vs people who only got information about their activity · they rated themselves · ⚠ results look too good to be true; numbers unreliable; summary claims more than the results show

3. No differenceGoals

   Minutes of moderate or hard activity fell in both groups, and the meetings did not change that.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Action: Track your progresstested
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Very small randomised trial of 23 adults with type 2 diabetes · vs people who only got information about their activity · they rated themselves · ⚠ results look too good to be true; numbers unreliable; summary claims more than the results show

Source