Perceived Dietary Adherence and its Barriers to Dietary Recommendations among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed at assessing the level of dietary adherence and its barriers among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 patients with T2DM. The Perceived Dietary Adherence Questionnaire (PDAQ) was used for dietary adherence measurement and perceived barriers were also identified.

Results: The majority of the samples were male with more than 10 years duration of diabetes mellitus, with hemoglobin A1c of more than 7, raised postprandial blood sugar and raised fasting blood sugar. In this study, 72% of the study participants had poor adherence based on PDAQ. The highest mean score was obtained for the question regarding consuming foods high in sugar with a mean 5.73 ± 0.98 times a week. On the other hand, our participants had a low consumption fish and foods high in omega-3 fats with a mean of 1.05 ± 0.68 times a week, respectively. About 91% of the participants expressed difficulty of adhering to the recommended diet during social or work events as the main barriers that hinder adherence to recommended diets.

Conclusion: The rate of non-adherence to dietary recommendation among patients with T2DM was found to be high. Hence, providing customized health education about the potential benefit of proper dietary recommendations in controlling blood glucose is recommended.