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OBJECTIVE - The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of high-monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and high-carbohydrate (CHO) diets on body weight and glycemic control in men and women with type 2 diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Overweight/obese participants with type 2 diabetes (n = 124, age = 56.5 ± 0.8 years, BMI = 35.9 ± 0.3 kg/m^sup 2^, and AlC = 7.3 ± 0.1%) were randomly assigned to 1 year of a high-MUFA or high-CHO diet. Anthropometric and metabolic parameters were assessed at baseline and after 4, 8, and 12 months of dieting.
RESULTS - Baseline characteristics were similar between the treatment groups. The overall retention rate for 1 year was 77% (69% for the high-MUFA group and 84% for the high-CHO group; P = 0.06). Based on food records, both groups had similar energy intake but a significant difference in MUFA intake. Both groups had similar weight loss over 1 year (-4.0 ± 0.8 vs. -3.8 ± 0.6 kg) and comparable improvement in body fat, waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, AlC, and fasting glucose and insulin. There were no differences in these parameters between the groups. A follow-up assessment of a subset of participants (n = 36) was conducted 18 months after completion of the 52-week diet. These participants maintained their weight loss and AlC during the follow-up period.
CONCLUSIONS - In individuals with type 2 diabetes, high-MUFA diets are an alternative to conventional lower-fat, high-CHO diets with comparable beneficial effects on body weight, body composition, cardiovascular risk factors, and glycemic control.
Diabetes Care 32:215-220, 2009
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. continues to increase, in large part due to rising rates of obe- sity (1). In fact, the prevalence of diabetes in obese individuals is 13.6%, >70% higher than that of the general popula- tion. Medical nutrition therapy is an inte- gral component of diabetes management, but there have been few controlled clini- cal trials on which to base nutritional rec- ommendations for individuals with diabetes. Decreasing the intake of satu- rated fat and cholesterol with the goal of decreasing plasma lipid levels has been an almost universal prescription for those with or at risk for diabetes. There has been controversy about whether...