EFFECT OF EATING ATTITUDES OF INDIVIDUALS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES UPON QUALITY OF LIFE

Eating disorders, which are one of the most important causes of poor glycemic control, increase weight gain among diabetic people, complicate weight loss and reduce quality of life by aggravating diabetic complications. The current study was undertaken to explore the effect of eating attitudes of individuals with Type 2 diabetes upon quality of life. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was done with 127 Type 2 diabetic individuals between November 2019 and March 2020. The data were gathered using Patient Information Form, Eating Attitudes Test and The Diabetes Quality-of-Life Measure. The average age of the participants was 58.77±8.78 years, 62.2% of them were female and 42.7% of them showed a cutoff point of ≥30 for eating attitudes. There was a negatively significant correlation between the Type 2 diabetic individuals’ total score of eating attitudes test and the sub-dimensions of satisfaction with treatment, impact of treatment, worries about future effects of diabetes and total diabetes quality of life scores (r=-.493, p=0.000; r=-.226, p=0.011; r= -.193, p=0.030; r=-.390, p=0.000) but a positively significant and moderate correlation between the sub-dimension of worries about social and vocational issues and total score of eating attitudes test (r=0.304; p=0.001). It was determined that individuals with Type 2 diabetes with impaired eating behaviors had low quality of life. It is recommended that with the first diagnosis, individuals’ eating behaviors should closely be monitored and they should be informed of the importance of eating and nutrition in diabetes.