Diet and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Caribbean

grantor: University of TorontoIn Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) type 2 diabetes is twice as common in Indians as in Africans. The main objective of this thesis was to estimate the nutrient intakes and diet glycaemic index (GI) of the Africans and Indians in T&T. The GI of five commonly consumed root tubers was determined as these data were unavailable. The GI values were: dasheen (101 ± 14), eddoe (86 ± 14), tannia (76 ± 8), Irish potato (94 ± 12) and white yam (89 ± 10). GI was unaffected by mashing. Nutrient intakes (n = 101) assessed by 24h recall were similar in Africans and Indians. African men had a lower diet GI than Indian men (78 vs. 83, p < 0.05). No difference was observed in women. These results support the hypothesis that high diet GI promotes the development of type 2 diabetes, at least in men. Diet GI should be included in any further assessment of the relationship between diet and diabetes in the Caribbean.M.Sc