Objectives: To examine the feasibility of using accelerometers to assess physical activity (PA) and quantify objectively measured PA in Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: We analyzed baseline data from a clinical trial on a culturally tailored diabetes management program among Chinese Americans with T2D. Baseline ActiGraph data were collected from two cohorts in NYC: one from March to May 2021 and the other from February to April 2022. Participants were instructed to wear an ActiGraph GT9X Link watch to record data in 60-second epochs for 24 hours over 8 consecutive days. Feasibility was assessed by the average number of days the device was worn and the daily wear time in hours. Additionally, we analyzed daily activity metrics, including step count and time spent in light, moderate, and vigorous-intensity PA. The intensity was classified using the Freedson (1998) cut-points, with light activity defined as 100-1951 counts per minute (CPM), moderate activity as 1952-5724 CPM, and vigorous activity as ≥5725 CPM. Weekly moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was calculated, along with the percentage of participants meeting the 2021 American Diabetes Association (ADA) guideline of ≥150 min of MVPA/week.

Results: We recruited 60 participants (mean age 54±12 years), predominantly male (60%), married (78%), with high school education or less (70%), employed (58%), who had an annual household income of less than $25,000 (50%) and limited English proficiency (88%). Of the 60 participants, 52 (87%) provided ActiGraph data, which was included in the analysis. The average wear time was 8.5±1.3 days, with a daily wear duration of 22.6±3.7 hours. Participants recorded an average of 12,376.4±4,470.5 steps per day. Time spent in light and moderate PA were 543±109 minutes and 134.3±87.1 minutes, respectively. Only one participant engaged in vigorous PA, with an average daily duration of 9.6 minutes. The weekly MVPA averaged 941.1±610.6 minutes, with only 2 participants (3.8%) not meeting the ADA’s guideline for MVPA.

Conclusion: This is the first study to examine accelerometer-based PA in Chinese Americans with T2D. The findings suggest that accelerometers are a feasible method for measuring PA in this population, with most participants meeting ADA guidelines for MVPA. Further research is needed to identify the activities contributing to these high PA levels in this population.