Objective:

To analyze different types of barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in people with diabetes that attend Grupos de Ayuda Mutua (self-help groups for people with chronic disease) in Sonora, Mexico, and participated in the Meta Salud Diabetes (MSD) program.

Methodology:

We conducted 136 observations registered in ethnographic field notes of MSD implementation and four post-intervention focus groups.

Results:

Regional food culture, publicity and abundance of non-healthy food, and difficult access to healthy food are barriers at the different socioecological levels that hinder healthy food selection and consumption among participants.

Limitations:

More research expanding on the issues observed and the characteristics and experiences of subgroups among people with diabetes is needed.

Conclusions:

Interventions like MSD that incorporate the needs and possibilities of participants to bring about eating behavior change through peer education and goal follow-up are needed. To make individual behavior change sustainable, these efforts must be accompanied by other actions promoted by health system institutions and other government and civil society sectors.

        · resumo em Espanhol     · texto em Espanhol     · Espanhol ( pdf )