Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 May;32(5):363-375.
doi: 10.1007/s10654-017-0246-y. Epub 2017 Apr 10.

Food groups and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies

Lukas Schwingshackl  1 , Georg Hoffmann  2 , Anna-Maria Lampousi  3 , Sven Knüppel  3 , Khalid Iqbal  3 , Carolina Schwedhelm  3 , Angela Bechthold  4 , Sabrina Schlesinger  5   6 , Heiner Boeing  3
Affiliations
Review

Food groups and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies

Lukas Schwingshackl et al. Eur J Epidemiol. 2017 May.

Abstract

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the knowledge about the relation between intake of 12 major food groups and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Medline (Ovid), Cochrane Central, and Google Scholar for prospective studies investigating the association between whole grains, refined grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, eggs, dairy, fish, red meat, processed meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) on risk of T2D. Summary relative risks were estimated using a random effects model by contrasting categories, and for linear and non-linear dose-response relationships. Six out of the 12 food-groups showed a significant relation with risk of T2D, three of them a decrease of risk with increasing consumption (whole grains, fruits, and dairy), and three an increase of risk with increasing consumption (red meat, processed meat, and SSB) in the linear dose-response meta-analysis. There was evidence of a non-linear relationship between fruits, vegetables, processed meat, whole grains, and SSB and T2D risk. Optimal consumption of risk-decreasing foods resulted in a 42% reduction, and consumption of risk-increasing foods was associated with a threefold T2D risk, compared to non-consumption. The meta-evidence was graded "low" for legumes and nuts; "moderate" for refined grains, vegetables, fruit, eggs, dairy, and fish; and "high" for processed meat, red meat, whole grains, and SSB. Among the investigated food groups, selecting specific optimal intakes can lead to a considerable change in risk of T2D.

Keywords: Diet; Dose–response; Food; Meta-analysis; Type 2 diabetes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors have a conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of study selection
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Non-linear dose–response relation between daily intakes whole grains (p non-linearity < 0.001), refined grains (p non-linearity = 0.07), vegetables (p non-linearity < 0.001), fruits (p non-linearity < 0.001), nuts (p non-linearity = 0.67), legumes (p non-linearity = 0.44), eggs (p non-linearity = 0.09), dairy (p non-linearity = 0.89), fish (p non-linearity = 0.48), red meat (p non-linearity = 0.30), processed meat (p non-linearity < 0.001), and sugar sweetened beverages (p non-linearity = 0.007) and risk of T2D
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 7 ed. Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation, 2015. (accessed 16th October 2016).
    1. Tuomilehto J, Lindstrom J, Eriksson JG, et al. Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by changes in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. N Engl J Med. 2001;344(18):1343–1350. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200105033441801. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chanson-Rolle A, Meynier A, Aubin F, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of human studies to support a quantitative recommendation for whole grain intake in relation to type 2 diabetes. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(6):e0131377. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131377. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rohrmann S, Linseisen J. Processed meat: the real villain? Proc Nutr Soc. 2016;75(3):233–241. doi: 10.1017/S0029665115004255. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Greenwood DC, Threapleton DE, Evans CE, et al. Association between sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drinks and type 2 diabetes: systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Br J Nutr. 2014;112(5):725–734. doi: 10.1017/S0007114514001329. - DOI - PubMed