The two minute weight ÷ 10 diabetes diet

Abstract

Background: The diabetes pandemic puts an unmanageable load on exisiting health care services, especially in resource challenged settings. It is necessary to create simple, easy-to-administer, and easy-to-understand dietary prescriptions which can be explained in a short period of time, by diabetes care providers without formal training in nutrition, to patients . Aim: This study assesses the accuracy and utility of an easy-to-administer diet, termed as the Bharti Hospital, weight ÷ 10, two minute diet. Materials and Methods: This prospective, unicentric, observational study was performed at an endocrine center in Haryana, north India. Two hundred consecutive persons with diabetes were explained a simple diet, with a single page visual aid, by a multipurpose diabetes worker, supervised by the consultant dietician and endocrinologist. Accuracy of the dietary prescription was assessed by calorie and nutrient content, measured by the dietician. Efficiency was measured by the time taken to administer the dietary prescription. Acceptability of the diet therapy was judged as a patient-reported outcome, using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, self-administered by the subject after undergoing nutritional counseling. Efficacy was assessed in all patients who returned at one month for follow-up, using a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire. Results: Without counting calories from cooking fat/oil, the calorie content of the diet was 17.5 calories/kg/day, with a balanced mix of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat. The times taken to administer this diet ranged from 1.0 to 7.5 minutes (mean average, 3.15 ± 2.46 minutes). Patients rated acceptability of this prescription at 4.1 ± 0.7 on a 5-point Likert scale. Forty patients, followed up at 1 month, reported caloric intake of 24.3 ± 4.51 cals/kg/day. Conclusion: The Bharti Hospital 2 minute weight ÷ 10 diet provides a simple framework upon which a dietary prescription can be based. It provides a fast, yet effective method of explaining dietary management by staff who do not have formal qualification in nutrition, and is acceptable to patients. This diet should be customized and studied in different culinary regions across the world.