Mediating effect of health literacy on the relationship between diabetes status and aerobic physical activity adherence among middle-aged Korean adults: a theory-based secondary analysis of the second year of the ninth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

This study applied Orem's self-care theory to examine differences in adherence to aerobic physical activity according to diabetes status among middle-aged adults and to evaluate the mediating effect of health literacy. By distinguishing between diabetes and prediabetes, the study aimed to reflect the stepwise nature of self-care demand while conceptualizing health literacy as a self-care agent.