Hiba Bawadi
AcceptedAbstracts: J Diabetes Metab
Assessment of patients? readiness to adopt behavioral change is a crucial part in any diabetes care plan. This study aimed to assess patients? readiness toward consuming more fruits and vegetables, less saturated fat, and less refined sugar. Samples of 737 type 2 diabetes patients were participated in the study. The data were collected by a structured interview-based questionnaire. The interview was completed by trained interviewer. Demographic data collected included gender, age, educational level, and income. Participants? Stage of Change (SOC) was assessed using staging algorithm adopted from literature. Our data showed that most of the study participants were in the maintenance stage for consuming diets with less saturated fat and simple sugar. Half of the participants (50.9%) were found in the precontemplation stage for consuming ≥ 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Several correlations were observed in the degree of readiness of several behaviors; patients who were more ready to cut their saturated fat intake were also more ready to cut refined sugar intake (p<0.01). Gender, age, income, and education were related to the stage of change of the selected behaviors. In conclusion, significant numbers of patients with diabetes in Jordan are in the pre-action stages for consuming 5 servings or more of fruit and vegetable. Major socioeconomic barriers against adopting healthy behaviors were older age, low level of education, and limited family income. The current finding suggests a need for nutrition education intervention to raise awareness of lifestyle factors influencing glycemic control among diabetics.
Hiba Bawadi has completed her Ph.D in nutrition from Louisiana State University. She is associate professor at Jordan university of Science and Technology and a Fellow of the American college of Nutrition. She has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals.
