Eat more homemade food to keep diabetes at bay

New York: Ditching
homemade food for that king size burger and French fries can add not
only extra kilos around your belly but may also increase the risk of
developing diabetes, a study has warned.

Individuals who often ate from outside,
typically fast food were more prone to gain weight a major cause for
developing Type 2 diabetes, the researchers said.

Concerns have been raised that such
people have a diet that is rich in energy but relatively poor in
nutrients -- this could lead to weight gain, which is, in turn,
associated with an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, said Qi Sun from
the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The findings showed that the people who
consumed five-seven evening meals prepared at home during a week had a
15 per cent lower risk of Type 2 diabetes than those who consumed two
such meals or fewer in a week.

A smaller, but still statistically
significant, reduction was apparent for those who consumed more midday
meals prepared at home.

Well-established diabetes prevention
strategies include behavioural interventions aimed at increasing
exercise and improving dietary habits.

The nutritional and lifestyle benefits
of consuming meals prepared at home could contribute to these diabetes
prevention efforts, the researchers suggested.

For the study, appearing in the journal
PLOS Medicine, the team employed large prospective datasets in which US
health professionals -- both men and women--were followed-up for long
periods, with rigorous collection of data on health indicators,
including self-reported information on eating habits and occurrence of
diabetes.
- IANS