Knowledge, Attitude and Awareness of Diabetes Nutrition in Physicians

Background Diet management is the integral part of diabetes. A regular and balanced diet helps in a better glycemic control in type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The objective of this survey was to examine the current dietary practices and to get a view of the current practice of doctors towards advising diet to their diabetic patients. Methods: A survey form consisting of 21 questions, was specifically designed to understand doctor’s view on recommended or discouraged diet for diabetic patients. The survey form was circulated to the doctors across various geographical locations of India. The obtained response was analyzed and the results were expressed in terms of percentages based on the number of responses obtained. Results: The survey included 644 consulting physicians who responded to the distributed survey questionnaire. Majority of the doctors selected 1800 – 2200 calorie and 1800 calorie diet for healthy men and women respectively and opined that restricting the calorie intake can help in weight reduction as well as a better control of glycemia in diabetic patients. The rice intake should be discouraged in diabetic patients as per 46.7 % of doctors and 48.6% of doctors believed that potato, sweet potato, and carrots should be avoided by patients with diabetes. 61.3% of doctors opined about avoiding mangoes, banana and grapes for diabetic patients. Surprisingly instead of ripe fruits, 26.4% of doctor’s recommended all unripe fruits. Seasonal fruits such as apple, guava, carrots were suggested only up to 200 gm by 46.2% of doctors and up to 400 gm by 30.3% of doctors. Most doctors preferred that dietary fats should only contribute to about 10% -20% of calories and preferred it to be from olive oil. Egg should be consumed without egg yolk as per 60.3% of doctors’ opinion. Artificial sweeteners can be taken as they are considered safe in moderate amount as preferred by 51.6% doctors. In this survey, majority of the doctors agreed on avoiding sweet items and food item with high glycemic index. Conclusion: A good proportion of qualified physicians lack sufficient knowledge of important aspects in nutrition: ideal calorie intake for men and women; glycemic index of fruits and vegetable; recommendation of ripe/unripe fruits or fruit juices; intake of sweets, artificial sweetener and cane sugar. This highlights the need of better training for first-line health-care providers and we recommend dietary management to be included in medical education at all specialty ladders.