A Nutrition-Focused Approach During Continuous Glucose Monitoring Initiation in People With Type 2 Diabetes: Using a Theoretical Framework to Unite Continuous Glucose Monitoring and Food Choices

J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2024 Apr 26:19322968241247559. doi: 10.1177/19322968241247559. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has transformed diabetes care, yet opportunities for further innovations still exist. Some research suggests CGM could be an ideal tool to guide food choices and other healthy lifestyle behaviors, especially for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Behavior change theories can be used to understand and describe how CGM users make food-related decisions, which could ultimately lead to the design of more tailored and effective interventions. In this commentary, we describe what it looks like to use the behavior change wheel-a theory-based intervention development framework-to design an intervention for people with T2D who will use CGM data to guide food choices aligned with evidence-based nutrition recommendations. Such frameworks may be beneficial when designing or evaluating future technology-focused behavior change interventions.

Keywords: behavior change theory; continuous glucose monitoring; food; nutrition; self-care; type 2 diabetes.