Association between awareness of the updated food label and both anthropometric and biochemical measurements among patients with type 2 diabetes in Jordan

Aseel Tayseer Al-Shawabkeh; Mohammed Omar Ibrahim

Aseel Tayseer Al-Shawabkeh Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Mu’tah University, Karak, Jordan
Mohammed Omar Ibrahim Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Mu’tah University, Karak, Jordan

Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, food label, nutrition awareness

Abstract

Nutrition label is one of the crucial tools that are highly recommended for patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus T2DM. The aim of this study was to determine the association between food label awareness and their anthropometric and biochemical parameters. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire included information regarding sociodemographic, anthropometric, and biochemical data. Study participants were recruited from T2DM patients in Diabetes Clinics in Madaba City and Al-Bashir Hospital in Amman. Results of the study indicated that food label awareness among T2DM patients were severely low within the score (2 out of 8) among Jordanian T2DM patients. Patients that practicing sports, smoking, having higher monthly incomes, and having higher educational levels, have shown a significant higher food labelling awareness. Body mass index (BMI) and females’ waist circumference (WC) negatively correlated with food label awareness, while male WC was not correlated with food label awareness. Food label awareness was negatively correlated with high HbA1c and FBS (mean=8.84, 212.85, respectively) among T2DM patients. It was concluded from the study that Poor nutrition awareness be a barrier to diabetes control, thus the reinforcement of nutrition awareness is beneficial in understanding food labeling and guiding patients to choose healthier foods.