Diabetic adolescents and diet.

Abstract

Recently, new nutritional recommendations for people with diabetes have been published, however, few studies have focused on the dietary intake and glucose control of adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The aim of this descriptive study was to establish the nutrient intake and glycaemic control of local adolescents diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus. A Semi Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SFFQ) and a general information questionnaire were used to study dietary intake, among 35 adolescents aged 12 -18 years. Height, weight and frequency of hypoglycaemic episodes were also measured; whilst the mean HbA 1 c of the previous year was calculated from the medical records and the body size category were determined using growth curve charts. This study indicated that the mean daily calorie intake by young male and female diabetic adolescents was according to the recommendations issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (1990), whilst for the older male type 1 diabetic adolescents this intake was statistically lower than recommended by the same organisation, and for the older female type 1 diabetic adolescents the mean daily calorie .intake was statistically higher than recommended by the WHO (1990). The results also showed that overall the proportions of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the diet of these adolescents was in accordance with the recommendations published by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) (2000) however, there seemed to be a tendency by some of the adolescents to consume fats in exchange of carbohydrates.

With regards to glucose control, few were the adolescents who managed to achieve a satisfactory glucose control according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) (2005) guidelines. In fact, the participants' mean HbAlc level over the preceding year was higher than the stated guidelines. Adding to this, the frequency of hypoglycaemic symptoms reported by these adolescents was high, and although not statistically proven, there was a tendency that the frequency of hypoglycaemic symptoms increased with better glucose control. Another observation showed that nearly half of the participating type 1 diabetic adolescents had a problem with weight control, where one forth of the adolescents where found to be underweight for their age and height and another one forth of the study sample were categorised as overweight.

From this study it could be concluded that whilst for most of the adolescents the macronutrient proportions in the diet seem to be in line with the guidelines, the mean daily calorie intake for the older adolescents needs to be reviewed. Better glucose control is also needed for the majority of the participants. However, this might be hindered by the frequency of hypoglycaemic symptoms. Attention should also focus on the weight of these adolescents as a good number of them have a problem with weight control.