The Association of Mindful Eating With Current Glycemic Control in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

In type 2 diabetes, life style adaptations, mainly healthy eating, weight loss or control and exercise constitutes the foundation of type 2 diabetes management. In addition to regulating blood sugar levels, lifestyle modifications play a significant role in controlling risk factors such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia, delaying/preventing complications from developing, and even promoting diabetes regression. It is essential not only to focus on healthy food choices in dietary therapy but also to ensure patients achieve weight loss. Another crucial point is maintaining the continuity of these lifestyle changes.

It is reported that it is quite challenging for patients to make lifestyle changes, adapt to the offered treatments, and furthermore, sustain this as a way of life. Adherence to these dietary changes is crucial for long-term success in managing diabetes and achieving weight loss goals.

In a cross-sectional study conducted by Fanning and colleagues with 148 type 2 diabetic patients, it was found that "conscious eating" is associated with better diet adherence. In a review by Dunn et al., the available data strongly support the necessity of "conscious eating" as part of weight management programs. An American Heart Association statement highlights strong evidence that irregular eating patterns can make it difficult to maintain a healthy cardiometabolic profile, and emphasizes that conscious attention to mealtime and frequency can contribute to a healthier lifestyle and better management of cardiometabolic risk factors.

In this study, the aim was to investigate the degree of eating mindfulness of patients with type 2 diabetes, and compare it between patients who had good glycemic control and patients with poorly controlled glycemic.