Bad diet can cause diabetes, says study – 05/18/2023 – Equilibrium

Poor diet may be behind 70% of type 2 diabetes diagnoses, suggests an American study published in Nature. According to the authors, the work is one of the few to assess the impact of food over time, between 1990 and 2018.

Scientists reached this conclusion from a model that crosses data on food consumption in 184 countries, estimates of the incidence of the disease and how food can increase the risk of developing it. Thus, they estimated that a poorly nutritious and balanced diet contributed to about 14 million cases in 2018.

Of the 11 items evaluated, three had the greatest weight in increasing the global incidence of the disease: excess refined carbohydrates such as rice and wheat; excess processed meats; and insufficient consumption of whole grains. Other factors, such as lack of fruits, vegetables, seeds and grains, in addition to excessive intake of sugary drinks, are also behind the high rates of the disease. Most affected are young men who live in urban areas.

The researchers claim that the number is surprising because previous studies indicate that the diet would contribute with about 40% of the cases. For the authors, the difference is due to the inclusion of refined grains in the analysis, one of the main causes of the disease, in addition to using data from individual food surveys, which are more reliable than information on agricultural crops.

“It is known that in type 2 diabetes there is an important association between the behavioral and genetic factors”, says Levimar Araújo, president of the Brazilian Society of Diabetes.

In people with a predisposition, excessive consumption of certain foods and obesity favor so-called insulin resistance, which occurs when this hormone is unable to properly carry out its function of taking glucose into cells. Thus, there is an increase in blood glucose. In some cases it is possible to keep the disease under control with proper diet and weight loss, but medication may be necessary.

“We have seen an increase in the disease in adolescents and young people, in addition to pregnant women”, says Araújo. “It is necessary to warn about the risks of obesity, poor diet and sedentary lifestyle, of a harmful lifestyle that predisposes to the disease.”

According to doctors, diabetes has serious health impacts, as it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, blindness, among other complications.