Journal of Nutritional Disorders & Therapy

Effect of Nutrition Education on Dietary Diversity

Giyeon Yang^* Department of Biochemistry, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
^*Correspondence: Giyeon Yang, Department of Biochemistry, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon, Email:

Received: 01-Apr-2022, Manuscript No. JNDT-22-16561; Editor assigned: 04-Apr-2022, Pre QC No. JNDT-22-16561(PE); Reviewed: 18-Apr-2022, QC No. JNDT-22-16561; Revised: 25-Apr-2022, Manuscript No. JNDT-22-16561(R); Published: 02-May-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2161-0509.22.12.179

About the Study

Consumption of a varied diet reduces the risk of developing a deficiency or excess of any one nutrient. One of the three corner stones of diabetes management is diet and therefore, dietary diversity is key among diabetes patients. Diabetes is a major problem of public health concern, long-term condition with a major impact on socioeconomic development of individuals, families and societies worldwide. The global diabetes prevalence in 2019 was nearly half a billion people (463 million adult people aged 20-79 years) accounting for 9.3%, estimated to rise to 10.2% (578 million) by 2030 and 10.9% (700 million) by 2045. Diabetes is reported as among the top 10 causes of global death in adults, and was estimated to have caused four million deaths in 2017. In 2017, global health expenditure on diabetes was estimated to be USD 727 billion. Over the past three decades, there has been a steady increase in the prevalence of diabetes globally but with rapid increase evidenced in low- and middle-income countries. According to, it is estimated that about 80% of all new incidence of diabetes will occur in developing countries by 2025.

Dietary management of diabetes mellitus is one of the pillars that has been widely in the Ugandan health care centers and hospitals. Food choices among diabetes patients is of great concern as it has impact on Body Mass Index (BMI) which is a potential risk indicator of type 2 diabetes mellitus. According to Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) of 2016, it was reported that 9% of adult males and 24% adult women were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25). Therefore, controlling BMI is one of the key measures for glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In order to maintain normal weight, consumption of diverse food stuffs and servings in all food groups is recommended. On the other hand, the quality of the diet consumed by diabetes patients is crucial. Therefore, assessing the diet quality of individuals with diabetes is beneficial for the development of an effective diabetes management intervention, which entails a proper evaluation of their dietary status, particularly for secondary and tertiary prevention to decelerate the worsening of various diabetic complications.

In several studies that have been conducted, it is reported that better dietary status showed a remarkable range in protective effects towards health outcomes of diabetes patients. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effect of nutrition education on dietary diversity scores among type 2 diabetes patients. The behaviour was demonstrated by patients who consumed a diverse diet classified. A higher DDS is associated with lower levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, reduces probability of having diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension especially when vegetable servings are observed. A diverse diet helps in achieving both macronutrients and micronutrients that cannot be found easily in one food type. The results of this study are similar to those of in which introduction of nutrition education resulted into a significant increase in the dietary diversity scores. Nutrition education increased the dietary diversity scores among School Children in Korea.