The impact of diet and physical activity on the management of Type 1 diabetes mellitus in children

Nutritionists suggest that people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) should engage in physical activity in conjunction with healthy diet habits. This study was designed to determine the effect of diet and physical activity on the course of T1DM in children aged 8 to 15 years. Young T1DM patients were enrolled in this quasi-experimental descriptive study at the Sebdou and Maghnia hospitals (wilaya of Tlemcen – north-west Algeria), from December 2018 to March 2019. The study was based on a questionnaire and the prescription of dietary measures and physical exercises. Anthropometric (BMI) and biological parameters (glycaemia, HbA1c) were measured at baseline and at three months of follow up. Comparison tests were performed using statistical software at a significance level of p < 0.05. Thirty T1DM patients were recruited. The sex-ratio was 0.76 and the average age 12.83 ± 1.98 years. BMI, which was 22.36 ± 5.16 kg/m2 at baseline, was improved to 21.72 ± 3.71 kg/m2 after experimentation. Glycated hemoglobin and glycaemia levels also decreased from 9.02 ± 0.80 % and 1.51 ± 1.007 g/L, respectively, at baseline to 7.72 ± 1.01 % and 1.57 ± 0.41 g/L, respectively, at the end of the experimentation. Drug treatment combined with a healthy lifestyle and regular monitoring of biological parameters; improve the quality of life of diabetic children.