Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate changes in nutritional knowledge, attitudes, behavior intention and behavior in a sample of 27 insulin dependent diabetic students participating in diabetics' camp. Nutritional knowledge related to diabetes, attitudes toward diabetes treatment and behavior intention about dietary changes were tested before and after nutrition education. Six months after nutrition education, an open ended questionnaire about their actual behavior changes was mailed to all participants and 17 of them responded. Pre-and post-testing showed that nutrition education was effective in significant changes in knowledge and in promoting positive attitudes and behavior intention. Increases of knowledge were consistently the same regardless of sex, level of education, regularity of diet, and duration of disease. Compared to male students, female students showed more positive change in knowledge, attitudes and behavior intention. It also appeared that middle school students showed more positive improvement in knowledge, attitudes and behavior than elementary and high school students. A follow-up test showed that their actual behavior changes were not squared with their behavior intention. They pointed out difficulties in having proper amount of meals and snack and the conflict with school time schedule as the major reason for discordance. These findings suggest that nutrition education for diabetics can be effective to improve their knowledge, attitudes and behavior intention and understanding about barriers to behavior change is important for better compliance to the disease.
