Abstract

Incretin analogue therapies are a valuable recent treatment option for type 2 diabetes (T2D) as they can improve blood glucose control and aid weight loss. The way in which an individual recognises and responds to changes in satiety signals induced by these treatments may explain why individual response is variable. Purposive sampling of individuals with successful outcome of incretin analogue therapy (GLP-1) for T2D gathered a participant cohort 15 people with 37 years (448 months) combined experience of this treatment and 149 years of living with diabetes. The focus group data reported in this thesis, explores their experiences, the differing relationship with food and varying strategies used to accommodate the incretin effect. The insightful contributions of living with T2D and integrating GLP-1 treatment into lifestyle will likely be applicable to a wider group, as the thoughts and experiences of the study participants should inform advice to people living with T2D considering GLP-1 treatment and those encountering difficulties after its introduction. The three broad themes which emerged from analysis: 1) The experience of ‘A Changed Relationship to Food and Eating’ set in context with links and interactions to both 2) ‘The Medical Experience’ and 3) ‘Social, Cultural and Emotional Influences’ are discussed in the context of existing evidence. The physical, social and emotional aspects of living with diabetes and the wider issues of how changed food and eating practices, have impacted on a generation and links with obesity and chronic disease risk are also explored.

Keywords

Type 2 diabetes, Qualitative research, Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, Food and eating practices, Social, cultural and emotional influences, Appetite, Portion size, Adapting to changes in satiety, Patient lived experience

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2014

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