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Nutrition & Dietetics vocabulary · Counseling Clients

Adherence

Meaning in nutrition & dietetics, with examples

/ədˈhɪrəns/nounCommon term

In nutrition & dietetics, adherence means: The degree to which a person actually follows an agreed treatment, diet or plan over time, such as eating according to a meal plan or taking supplements as prescribed.

In Turkish: uyum, tedaviye uyum, plana bağlılık

How it is used

Common in research and clinical notes: dietary adherence, adherence to a gluten-free diet, poor or good adherence. Many professionals prefer 'adherence' to the older word 'compliance', because it suggests partnership rather than obedience. The verb is 'adhere to'.

Example sentences

  1. Long-term adherence is the biggest challenge in most weight-loss trials.

  2. We discussed what makes adherence to the low-potassium diet difficult at family meals.

Common collocations

  • dietary adherence
  • poor adherence
  • improve adherence
  • adherence to a diet
  • stick toTo continue following a plan, diet, rule or decision without stopping or changing it, even when it becomes difficult.
  • behavior changeThe process of changing habits and actions, such as how a person shops, cooks or eats, in a way that lasts over time. In nutrition it is often the main goal of counseling.
  • meal planA written plan that shows what, when and how much a person will eat over a day or a week, usually prepared to meet specific health or energy needs.
  • motivational interviewingA client-centered counseling style that helps people explore their own reasons for change and resolve mixed feelings about it, rather than telling them what to do.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Counseling Clients

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.