Implementation Notes

When developing an exercise prescription and considering motivational strategies, it is interesting to note some of the typical differences between men and women.  While women tend to prefer activities that are social, supervised, scheduled and of a low-to-moderate intensity, most men prefer spontaneous individual activities that are of a moderate-to-high intensity.

However, INDIVIDUALIZATION is still essential when designing an effective program.  Ask your patients about their personal preferences before making assumptions!

Here are some general preferences*:

To summarize, consider the essential role that physical activity plays in the treatment of diabetes.  It certainly warrants high-level attention with each and every patient.  As healthcare providers, it is our responsibility to keep our patients out of harm’s way and provide a detailed plan to help them reach their goals. 

Build Activity into Every Day

Activity is Highly Beneficial

Risks Can be Minimized

Plan Ahead

You CAN Motivate!

That concludes our presentation. If you would like continuing education credit, you will need to complete the course evaluation and post-test. The organizations that provide this course’s continuing education accreditations, and your credits for this course, require each of you to fill out a course evaluation and to pass the post-test with eight or more correct answers in order to receive CE credit.

*Source: The Diabetes Educator, V36 No 5, Sept/Oct 2010