November 19, 2015

expert reaction to study investigating blood glucose response to certain foods in different individuals

A group of scientists have published their work in the journal Cell which reports variable glucose levels in people following meals, and put forward an algorithm which they report can predict a person’s glycemic response.

Prof. Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine, University of Glasgow, said:

“This work is interesting and seems well done but the overall conclusions where authors state that “maybe we’re really conceptually wrong in our thinking about the obesity and diabetes epidemic,” are, in my opinion, exaggerated.

“In essence, obesity remains the biggest risk factor for diabetes development and whilst finding reasons for small differences in sugar levels after meals if of some interest, what matters more is whether individuals at risk of, for example, diabetes can make small and sustainable dietary changes that help them stop putting on weight or even better, lose weight. By doing so, the vast majority of individuals, regardless of their individual responses to any given foods, will slow their progression towards diabetes, in some cases by many years.

“The key ingredients towards a better diet are usually clear in most individuals at risk of obesity or diabetes and so providing simple goals to change are also often obvious, but often not well discussed with our patients, nor do we given them realistic targets. Whether more complex personalised nutritional tests help improve weight outcomes remain to be tested. In short, we can do better and there is much to gain with what we already know rather than needing any more complex and costly measurements.”

‘Personalized nutrition by prediction of glycemic responses’ by David Zeevi et al. will be published in Cell on Thursday 19 November 2015. 

Declared interests

Prof. Naveed Sattar declares that he has no relevant interests.