Nutritional Knowledge and Nutritional Status of Diabetes Type 2 Patients in Kikuyu Mission Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya

Diabetes is now a pandemic of world concern affecting both developed and developing countries. Dietary intake and nutritional status of a person are considered key in the prevention and management of diabetes. Increasing awareness and knowledge about diabetes among the diabetics and the population at large is also considered paramount for its prevention, treatment and management. In Kenya, diabetes is on the increase in both rural and urban settings. Unfortunately, there is scanty information in Kenya on nutritional knowledge and nutritional status among diabetic patients. The study thus aimed at determining the nutritional knowledge and nutritional status among diabetes type 2 patients in Kikuyu Mission Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya. This was a cross-sectional analytical study that involved 153 diabetic type 2 patients attending Kikuyu Mission Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya. The study revealed low nutritional knowledge (69.3%) and high prevalence of obesity (50.9%) among the respondents. Additionally, statistically significant associations between nutritional knowledge and nutritional status of the respondents was observed (P < 0.05). The low level of nutritional knowledge revealed in this study demonstrates the need to scale up community interventions programs enhancing nutritional knowledge among diabetic patients. Regular screening of high risk persons should also be initiated and people should be advised to adopt healthy lifestyle for prevention and control of diabetes mellitus. Keywords: Diabetes, Nutritional Knowledge, Nutritional Status, Overweight, Obesity