Dietary and physical activity of adult patients with type 2 diabetes in Zhejiang province of eastern China: Data from a cross‐sectional study

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Lifestyle management helps improve the clinical outcome of patients with type 2 diabetes. The present study aimed to obtain lifestyle data on the dietary and physical activity of adult type 2 diabetes patients in Zhejiang province of eastern China for better patient education and improvement of clinical management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross‐sectional survey of 607 adult type 2 diabetes patients was carried out in 12 hospitals within eight cities of Zhejiang province. Data were collected for sex, age, basic physical measurement (blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference), dietary favor and habit (vegetarian diets vs meat diets, preference of salty or light flavors), detailed dietary intake (24‐h recall method), as well as the weekly physical activity. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients in the analysis was 56.39 ± 12.29 years, and 38.71% of the patients had higher levels of body mass index than recommended. The average daily total energy intake was 1887.71 ± 575.10 kcal. The percentage of calories from carbohydrate, protein and fat were 61.36 ± 11.59%, 13.29 ± 3.37% and 25.35 ± 11.16%, respectively. For physical activity, the patients generally spent most of their daily time sitting and sleeping, and the time for moderate vigorous activity was limited. CONCLUSIONS: Adult patients with type 2 diabetes in Zhejiang province have a relatively high carbohydrate and low protein diet, with very limited physical activity. Patient education to achieve a better lifestyle intervention needs to improve in this region.