A Practical Guide to Delivering Nutritional Advice to People with Diabetes

Abstract

Dietary advice is fundamental to the management of diabetes. Although ideally such advice should be delivered by a state-registered dietitian, it is more usually delivered by other health professionals. The primary focus for those with type 1 diabetes is carbohydrate counting and insulin adjustment and for the majority of people with type 2 diabetes, weight management is key. Patient-centred care is emphasised for the delivery of dietary advice. It is widely recognised that knowledge alone is not sufficient to induce behaviour change and practical approaches to a variety of behavioural interventions are discussed.

Multiple Antihyperglycemic Drug Use is Associated with Undernutrition Among Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The prevalence of undernutrition may vary across populations from developed to less developed countries [ 6 ] or different settings of healthcare provision [ 2 ]. More than 50% of hospitalized older adults with DM may be at the risk of malnutrition [ 16 , 17 ].…”

Reception of Dietary and Other Health-Related Lifestyle Advice to Address Non-communicable Diseases in a Primary Care Context: A Mixed-Method Study in Central Argentina

“…Verbal communication was the preferred way physicians used to inform a HRA. However, another health professional that assumed an important role in the communication of HRA in our study was the nutritionist and dietitians, though access to the services of such professionals may be limited in some places of Argentina ( 15 , 47 ).…”

“…These challenging data are sometimes difficult to address. A study in the UK reported that over 75% of primary care professionals acknowledged having had insufficient training to provide their patients with specific advice on nutrition and physical activity ( 47 , 52 ).…”