Review of 'Change means sacrificing a good life": perceptions about severity of type 2 diabetes and preventive lifestyles among people afflicted or at high risk of type 2 diabetes in Iganga Uganda.

The title aptly describes the content of the study. The abstract clearly describes the method, results, and conclusions. The references are up to date and include relevant studies.

The introduction includes a very comprehensive history and clearly leads to the research question.

The methodology is clearly explained and includes a pictograph on how the samples were distributed among the research groups. The sampling method was random, after stratification into the study categories, and selected by SPSS statistical software. This is a qualitative study and the method to promote validity and reliability amongst the coders is sufficient and clearly explained. There is sufficient detail to reproduce the study.

Tables are included to clarify the study results. The tables are designed well and easy to understand.

The discussion clearly explores the findings and the conclusion answers the research question. The conclusion is supported by the results and suggestions for further research is made.

This is a well written study and adds to the knowledge base for diabetes and health promotion at the individual and community-wide level. It clearly illustrates the knowledge of persons in the target community about the severity of diabetes. The overall theme is that the food and activity enjoyed ‘while living the good life’ contributes to diabetes and that eating different foods and having to do manual labor to be active is contradictory to what is considered a better life, because obesity is an outward sign of wealth in this culture. Because of this, persons are less apt to make changes until after they are diagnosed.

The study method was described in depth and could easily be reproduced. This could lead to similar studies in other cultures that could be then compared. The comparison of rural to urban persons is important to illustrate differences created by locale within a culture. The article was well written and easy to read. The authors clearly stated what they believed were limitations of the study and made suggestions for future research.

The weakness of the study would be generalization of results to other areas and cultures, as this was specific to a specific locale which is a third-world community in Africa.