Study on Barriers to Dietary Compliance in Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: The prevalence of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing globally. Poor control of diabetes is from lapses in dietary compliance. They have multiple barriers in achieving an optimal dietary intake. We intend to identify the barriers in dietary compliance in diabetes mellitus. Objective: To study the barriers to dietary compliance in diabetes mellitus. Methods: 102 patients attending the out-patient and in-patient services at Father Muller Medical College Hospital who fulfilled the selection criteria was included in this study after obtaining their written informed consent. The structured and validated questionnaire was administered to them by the investigator and their responses were marked in the preformatted blinded data sheet. Data collected will be analysed using SPSS v20.0. Results: The demographic data of the patients were correlated to the 4 domains in which the barriers were assessed. Among the four sections of barriers to dietary guidelines in diabetes, majority had lack of awareness on diabetic diet (49.01 %) followed by lack of knowledge and health care related barriers. No patients had lack of acceptance of their condition. Conclusions: This study shows that majority of the diabetics are still unaware of the diabetic diet and health care factors also play an important role as a barrier against following the dietary guidelines.