People who often eat food prepared at home
are less likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes than those who consume such
meals less frequently, new research has claimed. There is an increasing
tendency for people to eat out, involving more consumption of fast food,
researchers said. The study has found that such people have a diet rich in
energy but relatively poor in nutrients – this could lead to weight gain which
is, in turn, associated with type 2 diabetes risk, said Qi Sun, from the
Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in the US.
Sun
and his team employed prospective datasets in which US health professionals
were surveyed, with rigorous collection of data on health indicators, including
eating habits and occurrence of diabetes. The results were corrected for
factors that could affect dining habits, including marital status. The study
analysed 2.1 million years of follow-up data.
The
findings show people who reported consuming 5-7 evening meals prepared at home
during a week had 15% lower risk of diabetes than those who consumed two such
meals or fewer. A smaller, but statistically significant, reduction was
apparent for those who consumed more mid-day meals at home.
Moreover,
less weight gain could partially explain the reported reduction in occurrence
of type 2 diabetes in those often eating meals prepared at home. Well-established
diabetes prevention strategies include behavioural interventions aimed at
increasing exercise and dietary habits.
