Barriers to Adherence to Diet and Exercise Recommendation amongst Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Abstract

Diet modification and exercise require commitment to long term established behavioural change and are often very difficult. The study aimed at assessing the barriers to adherence to diet and exercise recommendations among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients seeking healthcare at Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Ghana. A sample size of 212 respondents aged ≥30 years who have been diagnosed of Type 2 DM for at least one year were sampled using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The study revealed that rates of non-adherence were 34.9% and 19.3% for diet and exercise respectively. Reasons for exercise  non-adherence included inadequate understanding about exercise (66.0%), perception that exercise could potentially exacerbate their illness (46.4%), being far away from home (16.5%) and busy schedule (15.5%), while the main reasons for non-adherence to diet were inadequate understanding about dietary recommendations (52.3%), eating outside home (32.4%), poor self-control (17.6%), financial constraints (14.9) and situation at home (12.1%). The study also found a strong positive correlation (r=0.984*, p<0.05) between respondents’ age and adherence to exercise recommendation. It is recommended that education on the type of exercise, time and duration of the exercise and the different food combinations for the Type 2 DM should be intensified in diabetic clinics.

Keywords: Aerobic, Barriers, Diabetes, Diet and Exercise, Adherence.