Keywords
Food and nutrition education
Obesity
How to Cite
Copyright © | All rights reserved.
The journal holds the exclusive copyright for the publication of this article under the terms of Brazilian law 9610/98.
Partial reproduction
The use of parts of the texts, figures and questionnaire of the article is free, being mandatory the citation of the authors and journal.
Total reproduction
It is expressly prohibited and must be authorized by the journal.
Abstract
Objective: To assess the dietary knowledge of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to discuss practical and clinical mechanisms of nutritional literacy in disease management. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with 159 patients treated at a hospital in a municipality in the interior of the state of Rio de Janeiro. A structured questionnaire based on the adapted version of the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ) was applied. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, food and health-related knowledge data were collected. Results: The mean age was 59.7 years. Obesity prevalence was 34% and overweight 32%, with only 31% of participants classified as having adequate weight. A widespread lack of basic nutritional knowledge was identified: 62% were unaware of the recommended frequency of fish consumption, and only 20% recognized the need to avoid trans fats. Conceptual confusion between nutrients and diseases was observed, especially regarding the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Conclusion: The findings reveal a critical gap in nutritional knowledge among T2DM patients, reflecting high levels of nutritional illiteracy. This scenario presents substantial barriers to self-care and underscores the need for segmented, continuous, and evidence-based educational interventions.
References
AĞAGÜNDÜZ D, et al. The roles of dietary lipids and lipidomics in gut-brain axis in type 2 diabetes mellitus. J Transl Med. 2023 Apr 2;21(1):240.
BANY-YASIN H, et al. Exploration of the nutrition knowledge among general population: multi–national study in Arab countries. BMC Public Health. 2023 Jun 19;23(1):1178.
BARREA L, et al. Comprehensive approach to medical nutrition therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: from diet to bioactive compounds. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland). 2023;12(4):904. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12040904
BEKTAS A, ULUSOY M, BEKTAŞ V. Gida etikelerindeyeralanbilgilerinsağlıklıalgılanma (health halo) etkisi. Gida the Journal of Food. 2020;45(3):590–599. https://doi.org/10.15237/GIDA.GD20045
CHAGAS TA, et al. Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in Brazil: a systematic review with meta-analysis. DiabetolMetab Syndr. 2023 Mar 2;15(1):34.
EDMONDS C, et al. Validation of a sports nutrition knowledge questionnaire for athletes in the United Kingdom and Ireland. J Nutr Sci. 2023 Jan 6;12:e2.
GALICIA GU, et al. Pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Aug 30;21(17):6275.
JULIA C, et al. Respective contribution of ultra-processing and nutritional quality of foods to the overall diet quality: results from the NutriNet-Santé study. Eur J Nutr. 2023 Feb 4;62(1):157–64.
KANALEY JA, et al. Exercise/physical activity in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a consensus statement from the American College of Sports Medicine. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2022 Feb;54(2):353–68.
KASHYAP A, et al. Investigating the effectiveness of very low-calorie diets and low-fat vegan diets on weight and glycemic markers in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients. 2022 Nov 17;14(22):4870.
LANERO A, VÁZQUEZ JL, SAHELICES-PINTO C. Halo effect and source credibility in the evaluation of food products identified by third-party certified eco-labels: can information prevent biased inferences? Foods. 2021;10(11):2512. https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/11/2512
LIANG S, et al. Dietary patterns and non-communicable disease biomarkers: a network meta-analysis and nutritional geometry approach. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 23;15(1):76.
LIU Y, et al. Self-reported dietary management behaviors and dietary intake among Chinese adults with diabetes: a population-based study. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 5;14(23):5178.
LIVESEY G, et al. Dietary glycemic index and load and the risk of type 2 diabetes: assessment of causal relations. Nutrients. 2019 Jun 25;11(6):1436.
MAMBRINI SP, et al. Development of a questionnaire on nutritional knowledge for the obese hospitalized patient: the NUTRIKOB questionnaire. Front Nutr. 2023 Jul 18;10.
MANZANO-FELIPE MÁ, et al. Validation of the General and Sport Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (GeSNK) in Spanish adolescents. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 15;14(24):5324.
PETRONI ML, et al. Nutrition in patients with type 2 diabetes: present knowledge and remaining challenges. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 10;13(8):2748.
RABL VA, BASSO F. When bad becomes worse: unethical corporate behavior may hamper consumer acceptance of cultured meat. Sustainability. 2021;13(12):6770. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6770
SIU K, et al. Toward a new definition of “healthy” food: issues and challenges. Curr Dev Nutr. 2023 May;7(5):100080.
TEBANI A, BEKRI S. Paving the way to precision nutrition through metabolomics. Front Nutr. 2019 Apr 9;6.
UUSITUPA M, KHAN TA, VIGILIUOUK E, KAHLEOVA H, RIVELLESE AA, HERMANSEN K, et al. Prevention of type 2 diabetes by lifestyle changes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients. 2019 Nov 1;11(11):2611.