Low dietary fiber and high protein intakes associated with newly diagnosed diabetes in a remote aboriginal community.
The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus in North American aboriginal populations may be due to recent changes in lifestyle, including the adoption of a high-fat, low-fiber diet. To determine whether fat or fiber intakes were associated with new cases of diabetes, we studied 72% (728/1018) of residents aged > 9 y from a remote aboriginal community in northern Ontario using the 75-g oral-glucose-tolerance test and 24-h dietary recall. The mean fat intake of this population (36% of energy) was typical for North America, but fiber intake (1.2 g/MJ) was very low. Logistic-regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index, showed that a 1-SD increase in fiber intake reduced the risk of having diabetes by 39% (P = 0.026) whereas the same increase in protein intake increased the risk by 38% (P = 0.027). There was no significant effect of energy, fat, starch, or simple sugars. These data support Trowell's original dietary-fiber hypothesis that "... dietary fiber depleted starchy foods are conducive to the development of diabetes mellitus in susceptible human genotypes."
Wolever
T M
TM
Department of Nutritional Sciences and Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. thomas.wolever@utoronto.ca
Hamad
S
S
Gittelsohn
J
J
Gao
J
J
Hanley
A J
AJ
Harris
S B
SB
Zinman
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology
D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins