Abstract
Introduction Most nutritional guidelines for diabetes management emphasize the importance of having individualized goals, away from a one-size-fits-all approach. However, there is a dearth of information on the dietary intakes and nutritional knowledge of Thai patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study is aimed at clarifying dietary intakes in relationship to glycemic control and at examining nutritional knowledge among Thai patients with T2DM. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study of outpatients with T2DM at Theptarin Hospital and Ramathibodi Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand) was performed to assess dietary intakes by food records. Diabetes nutritional knowledge and dietary self-care behavior was also evaluated. Results A total of 304 Thai patients with T2DM (female 52.6%, mean age 57.4 ± 10.9 years, body mass index (BMI) 27.3 ± 4.8 kg/m2, and baseline A1C 7.2 ± 1.3%) participated in the study. The mean daily calorie intake was 1427 ± 425 kcal, and mean intake for each macronutrient was acceptable (carbohydrate 52%, protein 17%, and fat 31%). However, the intake of free sugar was much higher (12.1 ± 5.8% of total daily energy intake) and dietary fiber intake (9 grams per day) was much lower than recommended. There were no correlations between dietary intake and glycemic control. A subset of patients (N = 213) completed the diabetes nutritional knowledge survey. There was no association between diabetes nutritional knowledge and the actual dietary self-care behavior. Conclusion These results indicate that compliance of Thai patients with T2DM to dietary recommendations is not completely satisfactory, especially for free sugar and dietary fiber intakes. Addressing the reality of how patients with T2DM eat in their daily lives and their knowledge gaps would enable them to adhere to medical nutrition therapy.
Highlights
Most nutritional guidelines for diabetes management emphasize the importance of having individualized goals, away from a one-size-fits-all approach
This is a crosssectional study of Thai adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) seen at out-patient diabetes clinics at Theptarin Hospital and Ramathibodi Hospital
More than 50% of recruited patients had good glycemic control based on having A1C < 7.0%
Summary
Most nutritional guidelines for diabetes management emphasize the importance of having individualized goals, away from a one-size-fits-all approach. There is a dearth of information on the dietary intakes and nutritional knowledge of Thai patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study is aimed at clarifying dietary intakes in relationship to glycemic control and at examining nutritional knowledge among Thai patients with T2DM. These results indicate that compliance of Thai patients with T2DM to dietary recommendations is not completely satisfactory, especially for free sugar and dietary fiber intakes. Despite the evidence and recommendations in medical nutritional therapy (MNT) from various guidelines for diabetes management [1,2,3], the importance of individual nutritional needs based on personal and cultural preferences is still paramount in patient counseling. Patients with diabetes who are able to adhere to dietary self-care recommendations often have a better glycemic control, leading to fewer diabetic complications [4]. Despite the known importance of diet modification, many people with diabetes struggle to adopt and maintain a clinically recommended diet
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