Individualized better than conventional dietary advice for glycaemic control in T2D

Individualized dietary advice among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) results in more favourable blood glucose levels when compared with conventional dietary advice, according to a study.

A total of 136 Japanese adults with T2D underwent a dietary assessment using a self-administered brief-type diet history questionnaire. They were randomly assigned to either the individualized or conventional dietary advice groups.

Both groups attended three 30-minute face-to-face dietary advice sessions by dietitians at 1, 3, and 5 months from study entry. The individualized group received dietary advice based on their individual dietary intakes, whereas the conventional group received dietary advice with generalized pamphlets.

The analysis included 126 participants. The primary outcome of the change in HbA1c over 6 months was much larger in the individualized than the conventional group (−1.1 percent, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] −1.3 to −0.8 vs −0.7 percent, 95 percent CI, −1.0 to −0.4; p=0.0495).

Participants in the individualized group also showed marked improvements in weight, serum triglyceride, and low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. On the other hand, there were no significant changes in these outcomes in the conventional group.

In terms of dietary changes, the individualized group had reduced intakes of energy, confectioneries, meats, oil and fats, and sugar-sweetened beverages. The conventional group had decreased alcohol intake but increased total fat and saturated fatty acid intakes.

The findings highlight the importance of formulating an individualized nutrition care plan for adults with diabetes.