Objective  To monitor physical activity during a week among middle-aged and elderly people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for providing evidences to promote scientific physical activity in the people.

  Methods  We randomly recruited 120 T2DM patients over 40 years old having physical examination at a general hospital in Shenyang city of Liaoning province between March and October 2018. Information on working, commuting, doing housework and having recreational and physical activities during previous one week were collected through a questionnaire survey and all physical activities during the week (at least 10 hours in two workdays and an off day) were monitored using Actigraph GT3X triaxial accelerometer made in the United States for all the participants.

  Results  Light physical activity was observed among a majority of the participants. The average metabolic equivalent (MET) was 1.37 ± 0.11 and 1.26 ± 0.11 for male and female middle-aged participants; among the elderly participants, the average MET was 1.33 ± 0.08 and 1.20 ± 0.09 for the males and the females. There was a significant gender difference in the average MET for both middle-aged and elderly participants (both P < 0.01).

  Conclusion  The majority of middle-aged and elderly T2DM patients have light physical activity, indicating a low level of physical activity among this group of T2DM patients.