ABSTRACT
To find out prevalence of various myths regarding diet of diabetics in local population. This was a cross sectional study conducted at diabetic clinic and medical OPD in Civil Hospital Karachi from January 2008 to December 2008. A total of 409 diabetic patients of either gender, age 18 or above who had given the consent were randomly selected. A pretested semi structured questionnaire regarding sociodemographic profile and various dietary myths regarding diabetes were used to get information from the study group. Out of 409 diabetic subjects 207 [50.6%] were male. Average age was 51.6 +/- 10.4 years. Most of the participant 397 [97.1%] were type 2 diabetics. Large number of subjects 83 [20.3%] were either illiterate or had had primary schooling 112 [27.4%]. Most of the participants 256 [62.6%] never received any diabetic education. Majority of study subjects 348 [85%] believed in special diet for control of blood sugar level while large proportion of study population 335 [81.9%] did not use underground vegetables and same number of participants had strong belief in bitter vegetables as natural remedy. Forty one percent study subjects had myths regarding fruits while 301[73.5%] said that rice is prohibited. Study population who believed in special diet showed significant p-value [<0.005] when compared with those who did not. Similarly the group that had received diabetic education showed significant p-value when compared with those who did not. A large number of diabetic patients especially those who never received any diabetic education have strong dietary misconceptions