Consistent with studies in other populations, findings from the first local study, The Singapore Chinese Health Study, conducted by researchers in the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and Duke-NUS Medical School, have shown that a high-quality diet defined by low intake of animal foods such as red meat, and high intake of plant foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and reduced intake of sweetened beverages could be associated with reduced risk of diabetes.
Consistent with studies in other populations, findings from the first local study, The Singapore Chinese Health Study, conducted by researchers in the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and Duke-NUS Medical School, have shown that a high-quality diet defined by low intake of animal foods such as red meat, and high intake of plant foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and reduced intake of sweetened beverages could be associated with reduced risk of diabetes.
Diet is an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Studying the impact of individual food items, however, does not account for the synergistic effects of diverse foods consumed together. Hence, scientists have turned increasing attention to studying the overall dietary patterns in order to capture the combined effect of a variety of food groups.
Five predetermined dietary patterns originating in Western populations, i.e. the alternative Mediterranean diet (aMED, an international adaptation of the eponymous diet), the Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI-2010), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, the plant-based diet index (PDI) and the healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI), are similar in being rich in plant-based foods, including whole grains, vegetables and fruits, nuts and legumes, and low in red meat and sugar-sweetened beverages. These dietary patterns have been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and are considered high-quality dietary patterns.
Nested in the Singapore Chinese Health Study, researchers from NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and Duke-NUS Medical School used data from 45,511 middle-aged and elderly participants who did not have diabetes during recruitment between 1993 and 1998. From the reported intake of 165 food items, the participants were scored on how similar their diet patterns were to the five high-quality diets in terms of intake of specific foods and nutrients included in these patterns. The participants were followed up over an average of 11 years, and 5,207 cases of diabetes were reported at subsequent follow-up interviews.
Read more at Duke-NUS Medical School
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