A Prospective Study of the Association Between Quantity and Variety of Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Incidence Type 2 Diabetes.

09 May 2012

MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, U.K. The link between the consumption of fruit and vegetables and the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is unclear, and the relationship between that risk and the variety intake is unknown.

This study examined the link between both the amount and variety of fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of T2D. The study involved a cohort of 3,704 participants (n = 653 cases of diabetes) followed for 11 years through the EPIC Norfolk study. The variety of intake was determined from the total number of different foods consumed in a period of one week.

The results showed that an increased consumption of fruit and vegetables was associated with 21% lower risks of T2D. Moreover, the amount of vegetable consumption alone, but not fruit, was inversely associated with T2D in the adjusted analysis. Greater variety in fruit, vegetables, and the two combined were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

These results suggest that a diet combining quantity and variety of fruit and vegetables is associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.