Responses of Youth With Diabetes and Their Parents to the Youth Eating Perceptions Survey

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of youth with diabetes mellitus (DM) and their parents/guardians about issues related to eating habits and to identify the relationships between treatment and lifestyle/daily care factors, youth characteristics, and eating habits of youth with DM. Methods included medical chart review and a written survey for youth with DM (n = 125) aged 10 to 20 years and their parents/guardians (n = 125) at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach, California. Healthier eating was associated with stronger parent-youth relationships (P = .000), eating meals at home (P = .047), parent/guardian involvement in DM management (P = .039), younger age of youth (P = .008), and youth being male (P = .017) but not with treatment duration, special meetings with a registered dietitian, parent/guardian age, BMI z score, race/ethnicity, or language of youth. This study suggests that family-centered interventions for youth with DM should promote strong parent-youth relationships, eating at home, parent involvement in DM management for younger patients with special attention to transition to self-care among older patients, and healthy food choices for older youth with DM, especially girls.