Science Alert reports:

Over the last forty years or so, the number of people with diabetes has jumped from around 100 million to more than 500 million, with matching rises in associated health problems like obesity and cardiovascular disease risk.

It’s a significant health problem that is getting worse, which is why researchers are investigating the underlying issues behind the trend.

One of those issues is likely to be diet, according to a new study into type 2 diabetes – which accounts for 95 percent of overall cases.

Researchers analyzed data from 184 countries collected between 1990 and 2018, pulling in statistics from public health databases, previous studies, and population demographic records. A poor diet could account for up to 14.1 million type 2 diabetes cases identified in 2018, the team found, which is around 70 percent of new diagnoses globally.

Of the 11 different dietary factors considered, three were shown to be most significant: insufficient whole grains, too much refined rice and wheat, and too much processed meat. Other factors, such as not eating enough nuts or non-starchy vegetables, seemed to have less of an impact. [Continue reading…]