Nutritional and Health Status of Diabetic Patients

Abstract

To assess the nutritional and health status of diabetics, nutritional and health status of 80 subjects (40-60 years) suffering with type 2 diabetes mellitus was determined using standard techniques. A questionnaire was designed to collect background information, anthropometric measurements, biochemical estimations and diet history. Data revealed that overweight/ obesity, hypertension and eye problems were the health disorders associated with the subjects. Body mass index of subjects revealed that a higher number of female subjects were obese compared to their male counterparts. Mean fasting blood sugar and postprandial glucose level was noted to be 175.2 mg/dl and 258.4 mg/dl respectively. Diet survey of the subjects indicated high intake of fats, carbohydrates and energy and inadequate intake of proteins, fibre and iron as compared to their recommended values. Wide prevalence of associated health problems among the hyperglycemic subjects clearly emphasized need of their diet and lifestyle modifications. Address for correspondence: Kamna Bhati Ph.D. Scholar College of Home science, Department of Food and Nutrition, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agriculture University, Bikaner 334001, Rajasthan, India Fax: +91-01512250692 E-mail: theindiandoctor@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Diabetes mellitus, is a complex disorder that in turn encompasses a whole spectrum of disease in westernized societies. India is known as the capital of this disease as the rate of diabetes is increasing day by day. Among these, type 2 diabetes is among the top ten leading causes of death. The management cost of the disease has been reported to be 2.5 times more than the management cost of the individuals without the disease. Diabetes is an inherited disease. It can affect people of any age from young infants to the elderly. It is estimated that 90-95 percent of all patients with diabetes mellitus are of 40 years or older (Balachandran 2001). Many factors contribute to the onset of diabetes and these are termed as predisposing or risk factors. Environmental factors such as diet, obesity and sedentary life style increase the risk of diabetes (Zimmet et al. 2001). Other important risk factors include high familial aggregation, insulin resistance, nutritional status, age, life style changes due to urbanization etc. (Ramachandran 2000). The magnitude of diabetes as a problem is enormous and the implications for health services are staggering and it is lifelong condition with the diabetic who are always at the risk of associated complications. However, these can be avoided by meticulous management of diet and lifestyle. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional and health status of diabetics using standardized techniques. MATERIAL AND METHODS The subjects selected for the study were all type 2 diabetes mellitus patients between the age group of 40 to 60 years visiting the Diabetes clinic. The study was conducted on a total number of 80 patients, of whom 45 were male and 35 were female. A questionnaire was developed for the collection of data from the subjects on various aspects like background information, anthropometric measurements, associated diseases and risk factor profile, biochemical examination and diet history. Background information collected included age, sex, religion, education and income. Weight and height was measured by lever activated electronic weighing machine with an accuracy of 100 g and anthropometry rod with an accuracy of 2 mm respectively to find out their body mass index (BMI) using classification of WHO (2000). Waist hip ratio (WHR) is a useful tool for identifying individuals at risk for chronic diseases, hence it was also calculated. Further symptoms of diabetes, family history and presence of associated health problems were also diagnosed with the help of a physician and recorded for all the subjects. Under biochemical analysis, data © Kamla-Raj 2013 Stud Home Com Sci, 7(1): 45-48 (2013)