An anthropological study into the views on diet and disease of a sample of Hindu Gujarati-speaking women with Type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Are perceptions of an appropriate diet by Asian Type 2 diabetes (NIDDM) sufferers affected by cultural background? Twenty Hindu women of South Asian origin, all Gujarati-speaking and with a mean age of 60 years, were interviewed in depth by the author in the company of a Gujarati-speaker. The interviews consisted of open and closed questions targeted towards the patients' views of illness and how if was treated with particular regard to diet. The findings showed that, in this group, the most problematic aspect of Type 2 diabetes was keeping to an appropriate diet, despite good knowledge of the complications associated with uncontrolled blood sugar levels. Most of the women felt a need to be seen as participating in the social and cultural values of people of their own age in their United Kingdom Asian community and, for them, these revolved largely around eating food.