Study: Type 2 diabetics forgo dietary guidelines

Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.

09-04-09

Sep. 4--Many people with Type 2 diabetes may be jeopardizing their health by not following national dietary guidelines for the disease, according to a study from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

The study, released yesterday, appears in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

The connection between Type 2 diabetes and being overweight has been well-documented.

The American Diabetes Association said that in 2007, 23.6 million Americans, or nearly 8 percent of the population, had diabetes. About 24 percent of those with diabetes have undiagnosed cases.

According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 85 percent of Type 2 diabetics are overweight.

The Wake Forest study, conducted on a national basis, included 2,757 participants. It focused on food-intake recommendations outlined in the 2000 version of the Food Guide Pyramid.

"I thought we were going to find people who, because they have a chronic disease, were more educated about and more motivated than the average American to eat healthy," said Mara Vitolins, an associate professor in the department of epidemiology and prevention.

"But that's not the case. The most important thing about controlling diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes, is being able to manage energy in and energy out. The best way to do that is through the diet."

The Wake Forest study showed that 93 percent of participants exceeded the recommended percentage of daily calories from fat, while 85 percent exceeded the saturated-fat recommendation, and 92 percent consumed too much sodium in their regular diets.

The study also found that less than half of the participants met the minimum recommended daily servings of fruit, vegetables dairy products and grain. Those foods also have been shown to prevent heart disease -- the leading cause of death in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Only a limited number of participants met nutrient intake recommendations for total fat, saturated fat, sodium and fiber. Overall, the participants consumed a diet that provided about 44 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 40 percent from fat and 17 percent from protein.

Vitolins said that there are several reasons why Type 2 diabetics are overweight, including cultural food preferences, busy work schedules, and not having enough money to buy more nutritious foods.

Many studies have found positive results when Type 2 diabetics lost weight through diet and exercise.

For example, the Diabetes Prevention Program, a large clinical study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, found that losing 5 percent to 7 percent of body weight and doing moderate-intensity exercise for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, may prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes.

Vitolins said that the study "clearly illustrates a need to provide ongoing nutrition education for people with diabetes, regardless of the amount of time they've had the disease."

"Day to day, the foods they are eating should be considered a vital part of their treatment. A proper diet and exercise can be as powerful as medication."