Nutrition Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Adult Male Patients in Selected Hospitals in Anambra State

Abstract

The study identified Nutrition Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Adult male patients in selected Hospitals in Anambra state, Nigeria. Specifically, the study assessed the perceived causes of Type 2 Diabetes mellitus, awareness of the importance of proper nutrition for the management of diabetes mellitus and the challenges and benefits of adopting proper nutrition. The research adopted a survey research design. One hundred and fifty diabetic patients were selected from three government hospitals by simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire with 25 identified items was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts. Data collected were analyzed using the simple percentage method. Results show that perceived causes of type 2 diabetes include; too much consumption of confectioneries (70.3%), eating too much starchy food (62.5%), and refined foods (51.6%), and it is usually inherited (54.7%). More than half (66.75) of the respondents knew about proper nutrition from dietitians/nutritionists, 26.7% got to know from a doctor while a few (6.6%) got to know from nurses. (40%) of the respondents stated that they believe prayer can heal them,38.6 % stated that the foods are costly, 36.6% said that they don’t have time to prepare food, while 33.3% stated that the kind job can be a hindrance, 30.6% respondents don’t like the way the foods are being prepared, while 29.3% stated that they don’t know about the proper nutrition,26% of the respondents stated that the food is not always available, 25.4% said that don’t like some of the foods, while 20.6% stated that culture forbids most of the foods, it is difficult to maintain, 20.0% complained that some of them are seasonal and cannot be easily preserved. The findings of the study revealed that proper nutrition has been very helpful for those patients who practice it. It is recommended that family members should pay attention to the proper nutrition of the adult male that is suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus to ensure adequate nutrient intake. The study, therefore, concluded that for an adult male to live long, he requires to manage his condition with proper nutrition.