EVALUATION THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR AND COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES PERCEIVED RISKIN PREDICTING DIETARY BEHAVIOR AMONG TYPE 2 DIABETICS

Diabetes mellitus is regarded as a major health problem due to its complications that these, nonetheless could be prevented or delayed with changes and modifications in the patients’ behavior and diet by understanding their beliefs.. The objective of this study was to explore the utility of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and complications of diabetes perceived risk to find modifiable diabetes-related believes in order to make behavior changes feasible. The present descriptive-analytical cross sectional study was conducted in Semirom Diabetes Clinic based on the TPB and complications of diabetes perceived risk, using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 154 diabetic patients without complications of diabetes were participated in the study. Measured variables were patients’ attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, complications of diabetes perceived risk, intention to eat a healthful diet and nutritional style. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. The results revealed that the TPB and complications of diabetes perceived risk fitted the data acceptably well among the Type 2 diabetes and within dietary behavior. Perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, complications of diabetes perceived risk and intention to eat a healthy diet were related to healthy diet behavior. No relation was found between attitude and intention to eat a healthy diet. The TPB and complications of diabetes perceived risk is a useful theory in determining intentions of diabetic patients’ and their adherence to healthy diets. TPB and complications of diabetes perceived risk forms a framework for promoting dietary practice among Type 2 diabetic patients