Institutional dietary provision for diabetic patients.

We compared the diet of residents with diabetes with current British Diabetic Association (BDA) recommendations, and the nutritional adequacy and content of the diet using 3-day food diaries. We studied 52 residents with diabetes and 48 age- and sex-matched controls from 37 nursing, residential and elderly mentally infirm homes in one city. The daily intake of fat, protein, carbohydrate and fibre of the group with diabetes did not comply with current BDA guidelines, and 52% of diabetic residents and 46% of controls had a lower daily energy intake than currently recommended. The diet of diabetic residents did not comply with current recommendations. Undernutrition is common in both groups.