ISSN: 2319-9865
Ashok Kumar Das, Chetan Mehndiratta, Sanjay Kalra, Atul Dhingra, Mangesh Tiwaskar, Supratik Bhattacharyya and Tanmay Agrawal
Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, India Bharti Hospital- Karnal, India Gangaram Bansal Hospital, India Shilpa Medical Research Centre, India Apollo Clinic- Kolkata, India Signutra, India
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: RRJMHS
Introduction: Approximately 425 million people were living with diabetes in 2017 and by 2045; it is expected to increase to 629
million. A healthy lifestyle, including a nutritious balanced diet is a key component of diabetes management. Medical Nutrition
Therapy (MNT) is defined as “nutritional diagnostic, therapy and counseling services” for the purpose of disease management,
which are furnished, by a registered dietitian or nutrition professional. Incorporating MNT into diabetes-specific nutritional
management has shown to improve glycemic profiles and to reduce the risk of disease complications.
Method: Keeping in view the direct correlation between diet and diabetes management, we undertook a survey on the MNT in
diabetes management in adults across India. A total of 380 Diabetologist/Endocrinologist/Consulting Physician/Gynecologist
completed the 15-item survey by rating on a 5 point Likert scale, where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree,
5=strongly agree. The questionnaire is about identifying the complete requirement of diabetic population, impact of 3Ds: Diet,
daily lifestyle modification and drug therapy, preference as formula feed or home-cooked food, recommendation pattern,
benefits of MNT, the importance and awareness of low glycemic index and glycemic load, indications of MNT and practice
trends of doctors across India.
Result: More than 91% of doctors agreed or strongly agreed that complete management of diabetes requires 3D�s: Diet, Daily
lifestyle modification and Drug therapy. A total o f 89.4% d octors were o f opinion t hat MNT is important i n preventing
diabetes, managing existing diabetes, and preventing or slowing complications, however they believe that MNT should be
individualized based on the requirement. The most common indication for MNT was glycemic control and the most common
pattern of prescription was either as snack supplement or snack replacement.
Conclusion: Doctors strongly recommend the need of MNT in complete management of diabetes under the guidance from a
registered dietician.
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