{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T21:53:47Z","timestamp":1791842027766,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,18]],"date-time":"2024-11-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1731888000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"UKZN College of Health Sciences"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Regular exercise has been shown to have a positive effect on the health outcomes of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, it is still underutilized in developing countries. This study investigated diabetes-related knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward exercise and its benefits among individuals with T2DM. A total of one hundred and ninety-nine participants (male = 21.6% and female = 78.4%) with T2DM, aged between 18 and 75, (43.77 SD\u00b1 14.78) years, participated in the study. A validated diabetes-related knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaire, evaluated by true\/false or unsure, was utilized in the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics analysis was used to analyze data with the significance set at p &lt; 0.05. The results demonstrated poor diabetes-related knowledge of exercise (p &lt; 0.001). The majority of the study participants, 163 (81.90%) with T2DM, did not know that physical activity and exercise are different. About 158 (70.40%) of the study participants felt that their regular work was an adequate substitution for exercise. More than 50% of the study participants demonstrated a positive practice towards exercise and its benefits towards T2DM (p &lt; 0.001). The majority of the study participants reported poor knowledge and a negative attitude toward diabetes. However, their diabetes-related practices were satisfactory.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph21111529","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,18]],"date-time":"2024-11-18T07:45:27Z","timestamp":1731915927000},"page":"1529","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Diabetes-Related Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Towards Exercise and Its Benefits Among Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Nokuthula","family":"Mtshali","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Biokinetics, Exercise and Leisure Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5469-6395","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Takshita","family":"Sookan-Kassie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Biokinetics, Exercise and Leisure Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients\u2019 knowledge, attitude and practice of lifestyle modifications","volume":"27","author":"Peter","year":"2022","journal-title":"Health SA Gesondheid (Online)"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107843","DOI":"10.1016\/j.diabres.2019.107843","article-title":"Global and regional diabetes prevalence estimates for 2019 and projections for 2030 and 2045: Results from the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas","volume":"157","author":"Saeedi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Diabetes Res. 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