Ideally, it is the role of the dietitian to provide the dietetic intervention. A vital part of the dietetic consultation is the assessment of readiness to change eating behaviour.
Exploration of barriers to change and awareness of psychosocial issues form part of the dietary consultation process. In the short term, food intake needs to be regulated and balanced against medication, in order to optimise blood glucose control. This also includes assessment of whether current medication matches the meal pattern and therefore whether it is appropriate, as well as the management and prevention of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia.
Long-term dietary control can offer protection against cardiovascular disease with weight management and modification of other lifestyle factors being essential. Dietary counselling should be innovative and specific to the requirements of the individual, rather than being rigid, prescriptive and restricted to a particular system of teaching, as may be the case when knowledge, experience and skills in diet therapy are limited.
