| Objective: To identify barriers to recommended dietary adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Design: Observational cross-sectional study.
Sample: One hundred-forty six overweight/obese volunteers with type 2 diabetes, who had previously received
dietary advice for at least one year, were recruited from two diabetes clinics in Tabriz, north-west of Iran.
Measurements: A 24-item questionnaire was designed to assess dietary barriers. The validity and reliability of the
questionnairewere assessed by Content Validity Index, Content Validity Ratio and Cronbach's alpha, respectively.
An exploratory factor analysiswith principal component analysis extraction and varimax rotation was utilized in
order to extract the underlying factors of dietary nonadherence.
Results: Factor analysis yielded seven barrier factors including: situational barriers/difficulty resisting temptation
[percent variance=11.64%], stress-related eating disorder/cost [percent variance=9.11%], difficulty with meal
and snack plans [percent variance=8.76%], confusion [percent variance=8.45%], work-related issues [percent
variance=7.72%], small portion size [percent variance=6.87%] and lack of palatability/family support [percent
variance= 6.78%]. These factors explained about 59.4% of the total variance.
Conclusions: Overall, patients with type 2 diabetes perceived some barriers to recommended dietary adherence.
In dietary counseling, considering and addressing these barriers will likely be effective in increasing the dietary
adherence for patients with type 2 diabetes in Iran |