COLUMBUS, Ohio—After nine weeks of education about the glycemic index in foods, adults with type 2 diabetes adopted better dietary habits and saw improvements to their health, according to research at Ohio State University.
Participants in a clinical trial attended weekly sessions about the potential benefits of low-glycemic-index foods. After nine weeks, the participants had adopted a lower glycemic-index diet and recorded lower weight, smaller waists and improved blood sugar levels.
For the next nine weeks, the participants received no additional education. When tested again, the participants had maintained most of those benefits.
“We found that with education, people with diabetes were able to adopt a lower glycemic-index diet. And it had a significant improvement in their weight control and glucose control,” said Carla Miller, senior author of the study and an associate professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University. “A vast majority of people with diabetes don’t get sufficient education about their condition when they are diagnosed. And yet for many patients, that’s the only time they receive nutrition education. What they really need is continued education and support to help them maintain good control.”