Effectiveness of nutrition education and counseling on metabolic control parameters of diabetes mellitus type 2 patients in primary health care centers

Background. Diet compliance is an essential part of the treatment and control of diabetes. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of education and face to face diet counseling on metabolic control parameters of patients with type 2 diabetes in primary health care centers. Methods. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 90 T2DM patients who referred to Andimeshk community health centers in 2018. Patients were randomly divided into two intervention (n = 45) and control (n = 45) groups. Data were analyzed by independent t-test, paired t-test and Chi-square using SPSS-18 software. Results. Sixteen weeks after the implementation of the nutrition education and counseling program, there was a significant decrease in the clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical parameters of the intervention group (P < 0.001). However, none of the parameters were significantly decreased in the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusion. The research findings show that the implementation of group education program, along with individual nutrition counseling, is very effective and can lead to weight loss, improved blood pressure and better control of blood glucose and lipids in T2DM patients. Therefore, the combination of education and counseling as two complementary methods in the treatment and control of diseases such as diabetes seems essential and effective