To enhance glycaemic control and improve general well being, physical
exercises, in addition to drugs and/or diet are usually prescribed to
patients with Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2D). Assessment of the
capacity of these patients to exercise based on the simple Six Minute
Walk Test (6MWT) is however not sufficiently documented. We compared
the exercise capacities of 58 T2D volunteers matched with 60
non-diabetic individuals using the 6MWT on a 50-meter corridor. The
self paced Six Minutes Walk Distance (6MWD) was our outcome measure and
it was taken as a display of the exercise capacity of the participants.
The diabetic participants had significantly lower (t = 30.5046, P <
0.05) 6MWD (318.57 ± 43.7, 95% CI = 306.74-329.25 m) than the
non-diabetic sample (596. 43 ± 54.78, 95% CI = 582.57-610.29 m)
indicating lower exercise capacity. In the diabetic sample, we found
significant differences in the 6MWD of the age groups (F = 9.4738, P
< 0.05) and body mass index classifications (F = 3.3416, P <
0.05) but not for the duration of their diabetes. We found exercise
capacity to be lower in patients with T2D than non-diabetic subjects
and this was found to be lower in T2D patients who were older and
overweight or obese. Exercise prescriptions for T2D patients should
consider these factors to avoid exercise induced eventualities