Abstract:
Type II diabetes is a rapidly increasing public health challenge in Pakistan, where dietary habits and nutrition-related knowledge play a significant role in disease management. Food literacy—defined as the ability to understand, interpret, and apply nutrition information—may influence how diabetic individuals make daily food choices. However, limited evidence exists on how food literacy affects the dietary behavior of diabetic patients in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. This study aimed to assess the level of food literacy among Type II diabetic patients and to examine whether food literacy is associated with their dietary intake patterns. A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Data was collected from 302 patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes using a structured questionnaire. The instrument included demographic questions, the Short Food Literacy Questionnaire (SFLQ) to measure food literacy, and the Feel4Diabetes tool to assess dietary intake. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were conducted using SPSS to determine the relationship between food literacy and dietary intake. The findings showed that participants generally had moderate levels of both food literacy and dietary intake. Despite this, the results demonstrated no statistically significant association between food literacy and dietary intake. This indicates that having nutritional knowledge or awareness does not automatically translate into healthier dietary behaviors among diabetic patients in this population. Factors such as cultural eating practices, financial constraints, habitual family food patterns, limited access to healthy foods, and motivational barriers may override the influence of food literacy alone. This study highlights the need for multidimensional diabetes management strategies that go beyond knowledge-based education. Practical skill-building, culturally appropriate counseling, family involvement, and community-level support may be required to help diabetic patients translate food literacy into meaningful dietary behavior change. Future research should explore psychosocial, environmental, and economic determinants of dietary choices among diabetic patients in Pakistan.
