Mediterranean diet reduces diabetes risk, study shows

It adds to research showing diet, physical activity and weight loss can reduce the risk of getting the disease

- Nina Agrawal

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, olive oil and fish.

(PHOTO: BOBBI LIN/NYTIMES)

Powerful new evidence suggests that following the Mediterranean diet while also cutting calories and increasing physical activity reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

A large randomised trial in Spain found that older adults at risk of diabetes who followed that diet, reduced their caloric intake and exercised regularly were 31 per cent less likely to develop the disease after six years, compared with those who just followed the Mediterranean diet.

The diet emphasises fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, olive oil and fish.

The findings build on results from an earlier related trial, which found that participants who simply followed a Mediterranean diet were 30 per cent less likely to develop diabetes than those who followed only a low-fat diet.

In that trial, participants did not restrict calories, increase physical activity or experience weight loss.

The study, published recently in the Annals Of Internal Medicine, adds to a large body of research showing that dietary patterns, physical activity and weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

"It confirms a lot of what we know," said Dr Elizabeth Selvin, a professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr Selvin said diet and activity are some of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but are hard to study.