Watch your diet to reduce diabetes risk

What you eat and drink, and not just the number of calories, is a significant factor in diabetes risk, a study showed.

Losing weight may be good but not enough to prevent Type 2 diabetes as researchers have shown that you do not have to be overweight to have elevated levels of glucose in blood.

For the study, researchers compared genetically identical twins - one heavier and one leaner - and found that after eating a fast food meal, the circulating metabolites, including those related to Type 2 diabetes, were found in both individuals at the same levels.

The onset of this type of diabetes is largely influenced by genetic factors and/or the composition of the microbe population living in our intestine, the study indicated.

"Our study contributes to a better understanding of the genetic and environmental factors influencing several risk factors which are associated with obesity and metabolic diseases (e.g., Type 2 diabetes)," said study author Matej Oresic from the Steno Diabetes Center in Gentofte, Denmark.

The study appeared in The FASEB Journal.