Flourish and Nourish; development and evaluation of a salutogenic healthy eating programme for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Summary

This interdisciplinary doctoral dissertation combines nutritional and social sciences in order to optimise the Dutch dietary care for people with type 2 diabetes. The salutogenic health model guided the development of a dietary intervention programme for people with type 2 diabetes. In the salutogenic health model, the factors which cause wellbeing are emphasised rather than the causes of disease. A mixed research design was employed to successfully develop and evaluate the dietary intervention programme ‘SALUD’ in the real-world. SALUD distinguishes itself from traditional strategies by its holistic, flexible and supportive approach to healthy eating. This approach is centred around the personal meaning of eating in daily life. The effect evaluation shows that a salutogenic approach has great potential. SALUD revealed that improving eating habits should be viewed from a life-course perspective and that psychosocial resources play an important role. Together, this dissertation advocates for a greater emphasis in diabetes care on self-reflexivity, mental wellbeing and social support in dietary guidance.