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Higher Energy Intake and Glycemic Load in Late Morning Linked to Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk in Hispanic/Latino Adults
A recent study published in Diabetes Care has revealed that consuming higher energy and glycemic load in the late morning is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) among Hispanic/Latino adults.
Methodology:
Researchers from the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, led by Dr. Jin Dai, conducted a prospective cohort study involving 8,868 Hispanic/Latino adults without diabetes. The participants, with a mean age of 38.7 years and 51.5% women, were recruited from four US communities between 2008 and 2011. A second clinical examination was conducted between 2014 and 2017.
The study examined meal timing by categorizing it into five periods: early morning (6:00-8:59 AM), late morning (9:00-11:59 AM), afternoon (12:00-5:59 PM), evening (6:00-11:59 PM), and night (0:00-5:59 AM). Participants’ energy intake and glycemic load for each period were assessed at baseline using two 24-hour dietary recalls. Incident diabetes cases were identified through annual follow-up calls or during the second clinic examination.
Key Findings:
The study found that each 100-kcal increment in energy intake and each 10-unit increment in glycemic load during the late morning was associated with a 6% and 7% lower risk for T2D, respectively. These associations remained significant even after adjusting for total energy intake, diet quality, and other confounders.
In contrast, no significant association was observed between energy intake and glycemic load in the early morning, afternoon, evening, or night periods and the risk of developing diabetes. Additionally, substituting 100 kcal of energy intake from the early morning, afternoon, or evening with late-morning equivalents was linked to a 5% lower risk of diabetes. Similarly, substituting 10 units of energy-adjusted glycemic load from other periods with late-morning equivalents resulted in a 7%-9% lower risk of diabetes.
Implications for Practice:
The study highlights the potential benefits of aligning eating habits with the body’s diurnal rhythm of glucose tolerance. “Our findings further enhance the existing literature by demonstrating the potential long-term promise of eating in alignment with the diurnal rhythm of glucose tolerance for diabetes prevention,” the authors wrote.
Study Limitations:
The researchers acknowledged several limitations, including the reliance on only two 24-hour self-reported dietary recalls, which may have introduced measurement errors. Diabetes was self-reported, potentially leading to outcome misclassification. Additionally, the relatively short follow-up period may have introduced reverse causation bias. Given that most participants had T2D, the findings predominantly apply to this subtype of diabetes.
Funding and Disclosures:
The study was supported by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
This research underscores the importance of meal timing in diabetes prevention strategies, particularly emphasizing the benefits of consuming higher energy and glycemic load during the late morning. Further studies are needed to explore these findings in different populations and over longer follow-up periods.
