Physical activity and behavioral regulations for exercise in patients with noncommunicable disease in central Saudi Arabia

Objective: Saudi Arabia's population has experienced a significant raise of noncommunicable diseases (NCD) over the past decade. Physical activity (PA) is recognized to positively impact the course of NCD, but existing evidence indicates poor PA protocol adherence across the nation. The self-determination theory (SDT) proposes that perceived autonomy and motivational quality for exercise play a determining role in behavioral regulation. The aim of this study was to explore SDT-based constructs and PA-related characteristics in Saudi patients with four major NCD. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the relations between PA and relative autonomy for exercise in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes (T1DM and T2DM), and hypertension (HTN) in a hospital in Riyadh. Results: Two hundred and sixty-three patients >18 years participated in the study. Patients accumulated 2016 metabolic equivalent minutes of PA per week (standard deviation = 1683.40). PA levels differed significantly between CVD and HTN, CVD, and T1DM patients (P < 0.00). T1DM was the most active and CVD the least active patient group. PA levels were highly correlated with the degree of perceived autonomy for exercise (r (244) = 0.65, P = 0.000) and differed significantly between some patient groups (P < 0.05). Motivational quality significantly predicted PA level in the sample (F[4, 241] = 48.639, P < 0.000, R = 0.447). Conclusion: Our results indicate that perceived autonomy and motivational quality are underestimated determinants of PA in patients with T1DM, T2DM, HTN, and CVD in Saudi Arabia. Differing NCD-PA profiles suggest the need for disease-specific treatment approaches.