Determining the level of comprehension of registered dietitians in South Africa with regard to the glycemic index (GI) used in the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The glycemic index (GI) has proven to be a valuable nutritional tool in themanagement and prevention of diabetes and other chronic diseases of lifestyle1,3,4,5,6,79,12,14,15. In this quantitative, cross-sectional, observational anddescriptive study, the aim was to determine the knowledge and level of comprehension of South African registered dietitians with regard to GI and glycemic load (GL) as well as to determine their ability to use/implement the GI inthe treatment of diabetes / insulin resistance. A questionnaire was emailed to 388 registered dietitians for completion. The questionnaire was based on relevant scientific literature and divided into three parts. The first part gathereddemographical information about the participants, with special emphasis on where they had acquired their knowledge of GI principles. The second and third parts contained closed-end questions to which the participants were required to answer'true' or 'false' or were presented with a multiple choice. Twenty-five questionsspecifically focused on the GI and the other 12 focused on GL. One hundred and fourteen subjects took part in the study. The results showed that most dietitians (54 %) did not learn GI principles at university and that the year that they qualified did not affect test results. The University attended did not seem to affect testresults either, with the exception of Medunsa (Medical University of South Africa), where graduates scored on average significantly lower than the rest of the group).The test scores varied between 43% and 97%. The average test score for the group was 71% with those dieticians in private practice scoring the highestaverage (76%) compared to those working in other practice areas. Although 84% percent of participants reportedly used GI principles in their daily practice with patients, compared to only 33% who reportedly used GL principles, results showed no significant difference between knowledge or comprehension levels of GI and GL or the ability to implement GI or GL principles. To conclude, South African dietitians seem to have a good general knowledge of GI, but there is stillroom for improvement in order to ensure that dietitians can become experts in the field. It is recommended that curricula be revised to give this subject more attention during formal university training.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University