A recent study revealed that a Mediterranean-style diet may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes obese and overweight individuals.
According to research published in the journal the Annals of Internal Medicine, individuals had 31% lower odds of diabetes if they follow a Mediterranean diet, reduce their calories and regularly perform physical exercises.
Co-researcher and chair of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Dr. Frank Hu stated, “With the highest-level evidence, our study shows that modest, sustained changes in diet and lifestyle could prevent millions of cases of this disease worldwide.”
In the Mediterranean diet, individuals eat a significant amount of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and unsaturated fats.
They balance their amount of lean proteins and dairy intake such as chicken, fish, and a very little amount of red meat.
For this study, researchers assessed data on more than 4,700 people 55 to 75 participating in a large-scale nutrition and lifestyle study in Europe, including all the obese and overweight people.
Half of them were asked to follow a Mediterranean diet, reduce calories by nearly 600 every day and perform physical activity, such as strength training, swimming, and brisking.
While the other group was advised to follow the Mediterranean diet, but weren’t asked to cut calories.
Results indicated a reduced diabetes risk for those on the Mediterranean diet, with an increased effect found in men than women.
Participants who followed a Mediterranean diet also lost around seven pounds on average and reduced their waistline by some inches.
