Dietary pattern of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM1) adolescent patients attended to at the ambulatory of a reference treatment center in Porto Alegre/RS.

Abstract

Objective: This research’s main objective is to identify the dietary pattern of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM1) adolescent patients.

Method: It is a transversal study, with a predominantly quantitative approach, which data was collected between 2014 september and october, through a questionnaire applied to 88 preadolescents and adolescents between 10 and 18 uncompleted years, who are being attended to at a reference treatment center in Porto Alegre/RS.

Outcomes: Among the obtained results, it is emphasized that 67% of the research respondents face some difficulty at the carbohydrate counting therapy, which is indicated for insulin-dependent patients. This method uses the amount of carbohydrates of each food, information that is found mainly at it’s labels, however, the analysis revealed thar 83% of the adolescents never read the nutritional facts presented at the labels. Familiar events are listed by 47% of the adolescents as drivers of their diet deviations.

Conclusions: Even that aware of the need to adopt healthy eating habits, the study subjects tend to deviate from their ideal diet and not to use the dietary tools available for an adequate glycemic control, especially the carbohydrate counting. These findings show the need for more effective monitoring and search for new approaches.