Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Food consumption and the incidence of type II diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective:

The consumption of different foods was studied for their ability to predict type II diabetes mellitus.

Design:

The study design was a cohort study, based on the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey.

Setting:

A total of 30 communities from different parts of Finland.

Subjects:

A total of 4304 men and women, 40–69 y of age and free of diabetes at baseline in 1967–1972 and followed up for incidence of diabetes medication during 23 y (383 incident cases).

Results:

Higher intakes of green vegetables, fruit and berries, oil and margarine, and poultry were found to predict a reduced risk of type II diabetes. The relative risks of developing type II diabetes between the extreme quartiles of the intakes were 0.69 (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.50–0.93; P for trend (P)=0.02) for green vegetables, 0.69 (CI=0.51–0.92; P=0.03) for fruit and berries, 0.71 (CI=0.52–0.98; P=0.01) for margarine and oil, and 0.71 (CI=0.54–0.94; P=0.01) for poultry.

Conclusion:

The results suggest that prevention of type II diabetes might be aided by consumption of certain foods that are rich in nutrients with hypothesized health benefits.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abahusain MA, Wright J, Dickerson JW & de Vol EB (1999): Retinol, alpha-tocopherol and carotenoids in diabetes. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 53, 630–635.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JW, Midgley WR & Wedman B (1979): Fiber and diabetes. Diabetes Care 2, 369–377.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aromaa A (1981): Epidemiology and Public Health Impact of High Blood Pressure in Finland. In Finnish with an English summary. p AL: 17. Helsinki: Publication of the Social Incurance Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baynes KC, Boucher BJ, Feskens EJ & Kromhout D (1997): Vitamin D, glucose tolerance and insulinaemia in elderly men. Diabetologia 40, 344–347.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brockington F (1967): World health. Appendix VIII. The International Standard Classification of Occupations. London: Churchill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee IB & Banerjee A (1979): Estimation of dehydroascorbic acid in blood of diabetic patients. Anal. Biochem. 98, 368–374.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Colditz GA, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Rosner B, Willett WC & Speizer FE (1992): Diet and risk of clinical diabetes in women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 55, 1018–1023.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Costacou T & Mayer-Davis EJ (2003): Nutrition and prevention of type 2 diabetes. Annu. Rev. Nutr. 23, 147–170.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cox D (1972): Regression models and life-tables. J. R. Stat. Soc. B 34, 187–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feskens EJ, Virtanen SM, Räsänen L, Tuomilehto J, Stengård J, Pekkanen J, Nissinen A & Kromhout D (1995): Dietary factors determining diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance. A 20-year follow-up of the Finnish and Dutch cohorts of the Seven Countries Study. Diabetes Care 18, 1104–1112.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ford ES & Mokdad AH (2001): Fruit and vegetable consumption and diabetes mellitus incidence among US Adults. Prev. Med. 32, 33–39.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ford ES, Will JC, Bowman BA & Narayan KM (1999): Diabetes mellitus and serum carotenoids: findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Am. J. Epidemiol. 149, 168–176.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Foster-Powell K & Miller JB (1995): International tables of glycemic index. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 62, 871S–890S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fung TT, Hu FB, Pereira MA, Liu S, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA & Willett WC (2002): Whole-grain intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a prospective study in men. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 76, 535–540.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fung TT, Rimm EB, Spiegelman D, Rifai N, Tofler GH, Willett WC & Hu FB (2001): Association between dietary patterns and plasma biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular disease risk. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 73, 61–67.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon M (1996): Dietary antioxidants in disease prevention. Nat. Prod. Rep. 13, 265–273.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Halliwell B (1999): Antioxidant defence mechanisms: from the beginning to the end (of the beginning). Free Radic. Res. 31, 261–272.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Halliwell B & Gutteridge J (1989): Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu FB, Rimm E, Smith-Warner SA, Feskanich D, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A, Sampson L & Willett WC (1999): Reproducibility and validity of dietary patterns assessed with a food- frequency questionnaire. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 69, 243–249.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu FB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Colditz G, Liu S, Solomon CG & Willett WC (2001a): Diet, lifestyle, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women. N. Engl. J. Med. 345, 790–797.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu FB, van Dam RM & Liu S (2001b): Diet and risk of Type II diabetes: the role of types of fat and carbohydrate. Diabetologia 44, 805–817.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang TC, Chen CP, Wefler V & Raftery A (1961): A stable reagent for the Lieberman–Burchard reaction. Application to rapid serum cholesterol determination. Anal. Chem. 33, 1405–1507.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Järvinen R (1996): Epidemiological Follow-up Study on Dietary Antioxidant Vitamins. Results from the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey. Helsinki: The Social Incurance Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Järvinen R, Seppänen R & Knekt P (1993): Short-term and long-term reproducibility of dietary history interview data. Int. J. Epidemiol. 22, 520–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim J-O & Mueller C (1978): Factor Analysis Statistical Methods and Practical Issues. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knekt P (1988): Serum Alpha-tocopherol and the Risk of Cancer. Helsinki: Social Insurance Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knekt P, Kumpulainen J, Järvinen R, Rissanen H, Heliövaara M, Reunanen A, Hakulinen T & Aromaa A (2002): Flavonoid intake and risk of chronic diseases. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 76, 560–568.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knekt P, Reunanen A, Marniemi J, Leino A & Aromaa A (1999): Low vitamin E status is a potential risk factor for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J. Intern. Med. 245, 99–102.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu RH (2003): Health benefits of fruit and vegetables are from additive and synergistic combinations of phytochemicals. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 78, 517S–520S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu S, Ajani U, Chae C, Hennekens C, Buring JE & Manson JE (1999): Long-term beta-carotene supplementation and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 282, 1073–1075.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu S, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, Giovannucci E, Colditz GA, Hennekens CH & Willett WC (2000): A prospective study of whole-grain intake and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in US women. Am. J. Public Health 90, 1409–1415.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer KA, Kushi LH, Jacobs Jr DR, Slavin J, Sellers TA & Folsom AR (2000): Carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and incident type 2 diabetes in older women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 71, 921–930.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer KA, Kushi LH, Jacobs Jr DR & Folsom AR (2001): Dietary fat and incidence of type 2 diabetes in older Iowa women. Diabetes Care 24, 1528–1535.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Montonen J, Knekt P, Järvinen R, Aromaa A & Reunanen A (2003): Whole-grain and fiber intake and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 77, 622–629.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Montonen J, Knekt P, Härkänen T, Järvinen R, Heliövaara M, Aromaa A & Reunanen A (2004a): Dietary patterns and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Am. J. Epidemiol. (In press).

  • Montonen J, Knekt P, Järvinen R & Reunanen A (2004b): Dietary antioxidant intake and risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 27, 362–366.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paolisso G, Scheen A, D'Onofrio F & Lefebvre P (1990): Magnesium and glucose homeostasis. Diabetologia. 33, 511–514.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peppa M, Goldberg T, Cai W, Rayfield E & Vlassara H (2002): Glycotoxins: a missing link in the ‘relationship of dietary fat and meat intake in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes in men'. Diabetes Care 25, 1898–1899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira MA, Jacobs Jr DR, Van Horn L, Slattery ML, Kartashov AI & Ludwig DS (2002): Dairy consumption, obesity, and the insulin resistance syndrome in young adults: the CARDIA Study. JAMA 287, 2081–2089.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polidori MC, Mecocci P, Stahl W, Parente B, Cecchetti R, Cherubini A, Cao P, Sies H & Senin U (2000): Plasma levels of lipophilic antioxidants in very old patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabet./Metab. Res. Rev. 16, 15–19.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reunanen A, Aromaa A, Pyörälä K, Punsar S, Maatela J & Knekt P (1983): The Social Insurance Institution's coronary heart disease study. Baseline data and 5-year mortality experience. Acta Med. Scand. Suppl. 673, 1–120.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reunanen A, Knekt P, Aaran RK & Aromaa A (1998): Serum antioxidants and risk of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 52, 89–93.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salmeron J, Ascherio A, Rimm EB, Colditz GA, Spiegelman D, Jenkins DJ, Stampfer MJ, Wing AL & Willett WC (1997): Dietary fiber, glycemic load, and risk of NIDDM in men. Diabetes Care 20, 545–550.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salmeron J, Hu FB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Rimm EB & Willett WC (2001): Dietary fat intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 73, 1019–1026.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salonen JT, Nyyssönen K, Tuomainen T-P, Mäenpää PH, Korpela H, Kaplan GA, Lynch J, Helmrich SP & Salonen R (1995): Increased risk of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus at low plasma vitamin E concentrations: a four year follow up study in men. Br. Med. J. 311, 1124–1127.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez-Lugo L, Mayer-Davis EJ, Howard G, Selby JV, Ayad MF, Rewers M & Haffner S (1997): Insulin sensitivity and intake of vitamins E and C in African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white men and women: the Insulin Resistance and Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS). Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 66, 1224–1231.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SAS/STAT (1989): User's Guide, Version 6. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.

  • Schulze MB, Manson JE, Willett WC & Hu FB (2003): Processed meat intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes in younger and middle-aged women. Diabetologia 46, 1465–1473.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair AJ, Taylor PB, Lunec J, Girling AJ & Barnett AH (1994): Low plasma ascorbate levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus consuming adequate dietary vitamin C. Diabet. Med. 11, 893–898.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Slavin JL, Martini MC, Jacobs Jr DR & Marquart L (1999): Plausible mechanisms for the protectiveness of whole grains. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 70, 459S–463S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Snowdon DA & Phillips RL (1985): Does a vegetarian diet reduce the occurrence of diabetes? Am. J. Public Health 75, 507–512.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Storlien LH, Jenkins AB, Chisholm DJ, Pascoe WS, Khouri S & Kraegen EW (1991): Influence of dietary fat composition on development of insulin resistance in rats. Relationship to muscle triglyceride and omega-3 fatty acids in muscle phospholipid. Diabetes 40, 280–289.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tuomilehto J, Hu G, Bidel S, Lindström J & Jousilahti P (2004): Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus among middle-aged Finnish men and women. JAMA 291, 1213–1219.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van Dam RM & Feskens EJ (2002): Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Lancet 360, 1477–1478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Dam RM, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ & Hu FB (2002a): Dietary patterns and risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus in US men. Ann. Intern. Med. 136, 201–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Dam RM, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ & Hu FB (2002b): Dietary fat and meat intake in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes in men. Diabetes Care 25, 417–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vessby B, Aro A, Skarfors E, Berglund L, Salminen I & Lithell H (1994): The risk to develop NIDDM is related to the fatty acid composition of the serum cholesterol esters. Diabetes 43, 1353–1357.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (1985): Diabetes mellitus: report of a WHO study group. Geneva: Technical report series, 727; World Health Organization.

  • Will JC, Ford ES & Bowman BA (1999): Serum vitamin C concentrations and diabetes: findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 70, 49–52.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Willett W (1998): Nutritional Epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Williams DE, Prevost AT, Whichelow MJ, Cox BD, Day NE & Wareham NJ (2000): A cross-sectional study of dietary patterns with glucose intolerance and other features of the metabolic syndrome. Br. J. Nutr. 83, 257–266.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J Montonen.

Additional information

Guarantor: P Knekt and J Montonen.

Contributors: JM participated in the study concept and design, performed data analysis and drafted the manuscript. RJ prepared the dietary data, supervised dietary issues and was closely involved in the interpretation of the results and in the editing of the manuscript. MH was involved with the interpretation of the results and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. AR participated in the study concept and design and in critical revision of the manuscript. AA was involved in the evaluation of the data and provided administrative, technical and material support. PK coordinated and supervised the conducting of the study and was closely involved with the interpretation of the results as well as in drafting of the manuscript.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Montonen, J., Järvinen, R., Heliövaara, M. et al. Food consumption and the incidence of type II diabetes mellitus. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 441–448 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602094

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602094

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links