Effects of nutrition education on Metabolic profiles of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus to improve glycated hemoglobin and body mass index

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is a lifelong condition, in which patient self-management is one of the key aspects of treatment.Therapeutic education is an integral part of the therapeutic strategy for diabetic patients. Changing patients' lifestyles by modifying their diets through nutrition therapeutic education programs can reduce their body mass index (BMI), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and control type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a proposed nutrition therapeutic education program on BMI and HbA1c in patients with T2DM. Methods: The target population was T2DM patients from the Fez-Meknes region of Morocco, consulting at Al Amal diabetic association in Fez, Morocco, from February 2021 to July 2021. Before and after 3 months of the educational session, patients' glycemic profile, BMI and HbA1c were measured. Results: A total of 160 diabetic patients with an average age of 56.8 ± 10.2 years were included in the study. Most participants lived in urban areas (86.3 %), were illiterate (39.4 %), and overweight (49.0 %). The results demonstrated that nutrition therapeutic education sessions reduced BMI and HbA1c of patients. A mean decrease of 0.8 kg/m2 from 28.9 ± 5.2 to 28.1 ± 4.9 was observed for BMI. On average, HbA1c decreased 1.1 % from 8.6 ± 1.7 to 7.5 ± 1.0 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results suggest that the therapeutic education nutrition program was effective in decreasing the BMI and HbA1c of diabetic patients. Implementing such programs in all regions of Morocco is an urgent need