Comparing Effects of Walking and Yoga Exercise on Quality of Life in Patients with type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes, as a chronic disease, needs self-management efforts. It is shown that having a regular exercise can lead to an increase in quality of life among patients with chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of yoga exercise with walking on quality of life among patients with type 2 diabetes. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 patients with type 2 diabetes aged 30-55 years. The participants were randomly assigned into three: yoga, walking and control groups. Patients in the yoga and walking groups, had 45-minutes daily exercise for four weeks. Data were gathered using the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire and were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA in the SPSS-16. There were significant differences between the yoga and control groups after the intervention in terms of physical function, physical role, general health, vitality living, social function, mental role and mental health of the quality of life dimensions (P<0/05). There were significant differences between walking and control groups after the intervention in terms of physical function, physical role, general health, vitality living, mental role and mental health of the quality of life dimensions (P<0/05). Repeated measure ANOVA showed significant differences in terms of physical function, physical role, general health, vitality living, mental role and mental health of the quality of life dimensions in the three groups (P<0/05). According to the results of or study, yoga exercise was more effective in improving general health dimension of the quality of life.