BackgroundType 2 diabetes along with chronic hyperglycemia may result in cognitive impairment. This can negatively affect the patient’s adherence to diabetes treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare the cognitive status and foot self care practice in overweight type 2 diabetic patients who exercised regularly and those who did not.MethodsThe comparative study was conducted on 160 consecutive patients from an outpatient diabetes clinic. They were divided into two groups: The active group comprised of 80 patients engaged in regular exercise for at least 15–30 minutes, three times per week during the past 6 months. The control group included 80 patients who had not exercised regularly for the past 12 months, matched for sex, age, education, diabetes duration, hemoglobin A1C and body mass index (BMI: 25–29.9Kg/m2). Data on the patients’ demographic information, foot care practice and physical activity habits were gathered using a questionnaire. The Mini Mental Status examination (MMSE) was applied to assess cognitive status.ResultsMMSE score was significantly higher in the active group. A significant negative correlation was noted between MMSE scores and BMI in the control group (r = −0.2, P = 0.03). A significant difference was noted in the four domains of foot self care practice between the active (4.77 ± 0.77) and control (4.45 ± 0.83) groups (P < 0.01).ConclusionsRegular physical activity can help promote cognitive status and foot self care practice in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes.