Glycemic Index–Based Nutritional Education Improves Blood Glucose Control in Japanese Adults
A randomized controlled trial
- Yuki Amano, PHD12,
- Michiko Sugiyama, PHD3,
- Jung S. Lee, PHD1,
- Kiyoshi Kawakubo, MD, PHD4,
- Katsumi Mori, BSC1,
- Ann C. Tang, PHD5 and
- Akira Akabayashi, MD, PHD1
- 1Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- 2Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
- 3School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Kanagawa, Japan
- 4Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Kyoritsu Women's University, Tokyo, Japan
- 5Department of Medical Education, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Yuki Amano, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. E-mail: yk-amano{at}umin.ac.jp
A low–glycemic index (GI) diet is effective in lowering A1C in diabetic patients (1–3). However, most research is from Western countries, where potato and wheat are the main sources of carbohydrates. A GI-based nutrition education program, designed for people who consume white rice (a high-GI food) as the staple, has not yet been studied. We developed a low-GI dietary regimen based on Japanese foods. This study aimed to evaluate whether GI-based nutrition education improves blood glucose control more than a conventional nutrition education in participants with type 2 diabetes or impaired fasting glucose.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—
We conducted a 3-month, randomized, controlled, parallel-group trial. Participant inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) fasting plasma glucose (FPG) between 110 and 160 mg/dl or A1C between 5.8 and 8.0% (4) and 2) nonusage of any hypoglycemic drugs.
All participants attended one group session on conventional nutritional education at baseline. Each participant was then randomly assigned to either GI-based or conventional nutrition education; four individual sessions followed (2nd week and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd month).
Conventional nutritional education was based on the Japan Diabetes Society guidelines (4) and focused on lowering total energy intake, mainly …
