Biological Perspectives

**67**

**Chapter 4**

**Abstract**

diabetes alone.

**1. Type 2 diabetes and quality of life**

Patients

Effects of Physical Exercise on the

Quality of Life of Type 2 Diabetes

*Pablo Tomas-Carus, Nilton Leite and Armando Raimundo*

Diabetes is one of the most important chronic diseases that impact human health, and the total number of diabetes patients worldwide may rise to about 370 million in 2030 (170 million in 2000). Type 2 diabetes patients account for 90% of all diabetes worldwide. Previous literature reported that type 2 diabetes patients have lower quality of life (QoL) than those healthy persons and that a sedentary lifestyle is a modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes and an independent predictor of poor quality of life. When the physical activity is planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement performed to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness, it is a denominated physical exercise. Physical exercise has been effective by altering the body composition, glycemic control, blood pressure, insulin resistance, and mental and physical components of QoL. In this chapter, we also focus our attention on mental disorders. Depression and anxiety are the most common in those patients, which can lead to unfavorable influences on metabolic control and micro- and macrovascular complications compared to those with

**Keywords:** type 2 diabetes, quality of life, physical exercise, anxiety, depression

Since type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic disease, patients will live with it for the rest of their lives, and the treatment is performed through a healthy diet plan, physical activity, and medication [1]. When not treated properly, patients may suffer various complications over time, affecting the overall health and quality of life, failing with the goals for the treatment of the disease [2, 3]. Quality of life is an individual's perception of overall well-being that comprises of a physical, mental, and social component [4]. The term health-related quality of life (HRQoL), which does not approach the concept of satisfaction or happiness and satisfaction life, that is, related with some specifics of life, is frequently employed [5]. Many psychometric tools were developed to determine the impact of diabetes and other chronic diseases and also the effect of some intervention on quality of life. For those patient, the most used are the Diabetes Quality of Life Measure (DQOL), the Diabetes-Specific Quality of Life Scale (DSQOLS), the Diabetes Quality of Life Clinical Trial Questionnaire-Revised, the Appraisal of Diabetes Scale, the ATT-39, and the revised ATT19; the Questionnaire on Stress in Patients with Diabetes-Revised, the
