Several papers, coauthored by researchers from the MRC Epidemiology Unit and the Clinical School have been featured in PLOS Medicine’s inaugural special monthly issue, which focuses on Diabetes Prevention:

Dr Nita Forouhi, Professor Nick Wareham and Dr Kay-Tee Khaw (PHPC), and colleagues from the University of California, found that people who consumed all five food groups had 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM) over a ten-year period.

Dr Annalijn Conklin, Dr Pablo Monsivais, Dr Forouhi and colleagues examined the association between the reported diversity of intake of food groups and the risk of developing T2DM. These studies found that better diets come with a monetary cost.

Dr Forouhi and colleagues examined how consumption of individual types of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids is linked to the risk of developing T2DM.

Dr Fumiaki Imamura and colleagues found that consumption of unsaturated fats in place of either saturated fats or carbohydrates has a beneficial impact on measures of metabolic health.

Dr Jenna Panter and Dr David Ogilvie discuss emerging evidence on how physical activity such as cycling can lower the risk of developing diabetes, and why population-level interventions to improve activity patterns need to be rigorously evaluated.

Finally, Professor Martin White argues that population approaches to prevention offer the most effective means of stemming the emerging obesity and T2DM pandemics, particularly in low and middle income countries.