Increasing Red Meat Consumption Increases Risk For Type 2 Diabetes In 3 Large Cohorts

Following the theme of yesterdays post, Large Prospective Study Supports Link Between Meat Consumption And Diabetes, below is a study from this summer which found that increasing the amount of red meat eaten - by just a half serving or a few ounces a day - increases the risk for type 2 diabetes:

Changes in Red Meat Consumption and Subsequent Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Three Cohorts of US Men and Women, JAMA Internal Medicine, July 2013

Researchers followed 149,143 participants of 3 Harvard-based prospective cohorts - the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, the Nurses’ Health Study, and the Nurses’ Health Study II. After adjustment (for age, family history, race, marital status, initial red meat consumption, smoking status, physical activity, alcohol intake, total energy intake, and diet quality), they found that:

"Increasing red meat intake during a 4-year interval was associated with an elevated risk of [type 2 diabetes] during the subsequent 4 years in each cohort."

"Increasing red meat intake of more than 0.50 servings per day was associated with a 48% elevated risk [of type 2 diabetes] in the subsequent 4-year period.

"Reducing red meat consumption by more than 0.50 servings per day from baseline to the first 4 years of follow-up was associated with a 14% lower risk during the subsequent entire follow-up."

They concluded:

"Our results confirm the robustness of the association between red meat and [type 2 diabetes] and add further evidence that limiting red meat consumption over time confers benefits for [type 2 diabetes] prevention."

People change their eating behavior over time. Studies that measure food intake at one point in time, usually at baseline or the beginning of a study, fail to account for these changes. In these 3 cohorts, diet was updated every 4 years.
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Increasing Muscle Mass May Improve Insulin Resistance And Lower Risk For Diabetes

Is it possible to improve insulin sensitivity and stave off a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes by increasing muscle mass?

Yes, according to this study:

Relative Muscle Mass Is Inversely Associated With Insulin Resistance And Prediabetes. Findings From The Third National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, September, 2011

Analysis of data from 13,644 participants of NHANES III revealed:

In people with diabetes, each 10% increase in skeletal muscle index (SMI: the ratio of total skeletal muscle mass, estimated by bioelectrical impedance, to total body weight) was associated with:

• 11% reduction in insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)
  
• 12% reduction in prediabetes prevalence

Reductions were higher in people without diabetes.

Study author Dr. Preethi Srikanthan, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology at UCLA, said in a press release:

"Our findings suggest that beyond focusing on losing weight to improve metabolic health, there may be a role for maintaining fitness and building muscle mass. This is a welcome message for many overweight patients who experience difficulty in achieving weight loss, as any effort to get moving and keep fit should be seen as laudable and contributing to metabolic change."

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