Dietary Practices, Physical Activity And Blood Glucose Levels Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Attending Meru Hospital, Meru County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is a persistent metabolic disorder, characterized by high levels of blood glucose due to defects in secretion of insulin, action or both. Globally, due to lifestyle changes, type 2 diabetes is widespread causing a serious health concern and more so in developing countries. The disorder threatens to reach pandemic levels if actions are not taken. The situation is critical in Kenya, since diabetes prevalence (3.3%) is on the rise which threatens the health of general public and national economy. Unfortunately, little progress has been achieved in the management of diabetes regardless of numerous initiatives. This predisposes patients to complications and mortalities which can be averted. Moreover, proportion of adults achieving expected targets in their blood glucose level is known to vary and there exist insufficient data. The study, for that reason, sought to find out dietary practices, physical activity and blood glucose level among adults (19-60 years) with type 2 diabetes attending Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital. A cross-sectional analytical study design was applied on a comprehensive sample of 157 type 2 diabetes mellitus adults attending the hospital. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussion guides and key informant interviews. Glycated hemoglobin was used to assess the blood glucose levels while modified short form International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to determine physical activity level. For dietary practices, dietary diversity score, 24-hour dietary recall, food frequency questionnaire were used. Body mass index and waist hip ratio of the participants was measured to establish their nutritional status. Data obtained was coded, cleaned, entered and analyzed using Ms-Excel, Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software version 20 and Nutri-survey software. Qualitative data was transcribed, coded and categorized into themes. The pearson correlation and chi-square tests were used to test the associations at 95% confidence level. Results showed that majority, 76.4% participants were females and 56.7% of the participants were farmers. Noteworthy, 86.6% had high glycated hemoglobin with a mean of 9.7±2.64. Physical activity level was moderate 84.1% level while 3.2% had low physical activity. Energy intakes (1971 kilocalories) were below the recommended values in both males and females. Forty two (42%) were normal while 53.5% were either overweight or obese. Logistic binary regression was done for association between socio-economic characteristics and blood glucose level where income emerged significant (P-value