Adherence to Dietary Recommendation and Its Associated Factors among People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study in Nepal

INTRODUCTION: Intensive lifestyle modification including a healthy diet changes the diagnostic status of patient from prediabetes to nondiabetes. In type 2 diabetes, improper eating habits increase insulin resistance. This study is aimed at assessing adherence to the dietary recommendation and its associated factors among people with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among systematically sampled type 2 diabetic patients using interview on Gandaki Medical College Teaching Hospital and Diabetes, Thyroid, and Endocrinology Care Center, Pokhara. The Perceived Dietary Adherence Questionnaire was used to assess dietary adherence. Data was entered in EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed on SPSS version 20. Logistic regression with adjusted odds ratio and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals were used to find out significance of association. RESULTS: Among 204 participants, only 15.7% of the participants had good dietary adherence. The mean age and standard deviation were 53.03 ± 11.90 years. Factors such as participants living in single family (AOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.0-7.4), participants who could afford recommended diet (AOR 2.9, 95% CI 1.0-8.3), participants having self-control on food (AOR 4.1, 95% CI 1.2-14.1), participants who were engaged in moderate to heavy physical activities (AOR 3.3, 95% CI 1.2-9.2), and participants who had adherence to medication (AOR 3.5, 95% CI 1.2-10.1) were significantly associated with adherence to dietary recommendation. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to dietary recommendation among people with type 2 diabetes was low. Factors such as family type, affordability of recommended diet, self-control on food, physical activity, and medication adherence were significantly associated with adherence to dietary recommendations among people with type 2 diabetes. These factors should be considered by nutrition counselors and clinical decision-makers in patient counseling regarding dietary adherence.