Influence of Educational Level on Psychosocial Correlates and Perceived Environmental Correlates of Physical Activity in Adults at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: The Feel4Diabetes-Study

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether the relationship between psychosocial and perceived environmental factors and physical activity (PA) in adults at risk for type 2 diabetes is influenced by educational level.

Methods: Based on the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score questionnaire, this study selected 164 adults (Mage: 38 (5.34) y, 13.4% men) at type 2 diabetes risk from 11 low socioeconomic neighborhoods in Flanders (Belgium). Participants filled out questionnaires on psychosocial and perceived environmental factors and wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for 5 consecutive days. Statistical analyses were performed using analysis of covariance in SPSS.

Results: Educational level significantly influenced the association between perception of body weight and light PA (P = .01) and total PA (P = .03) on weekend days. Educational level did not influence the associations between other psychosocial and perceived environmental factors (ie, perceived social influence; environmental, time and attitudinal barriers, perceived self-efficacy; knowledge and fatalism) and PA.

Conclusions: Educational level did not influence the relationship between most psychosocial and perceived environmental factors and PA in this sample of adults at type 2 diabetes risk. This suggests that addressing different psychosocial and perceived environmental correlates in lower and higher educated participants might not be necessary. However, more research in this specific population is needed.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02393872.

Keywords: FINDRISC; objectively measured; socioeconomic status; type 2 diabetes risk.