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Dietary glycaemic index from an epidemiological point of view

International Journal of Obesity volume 30, pages S66–S71 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The concept of glycaemic index (GI) was developed 25 years ago by Jenkins and co-workers in 1981 and first studied to help diabetic patients with blood glucose control. In 1997 two epidemiological studies were published showing that high GI food consumption is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. At the same time the concept of the glycaemic load (GL) was introduced, based on GI and total carbohydrate intake. Since then, many studies have been conducted to investigate the role of dietary GI and GL in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and other chronic diseases such as cancer. The current review will focus on the epidemiological evidence obtained so far. In addition, several key methodological issues will be addressed, such as the dietary assessment method used, the application of the international GI and GL table, and the correlated dietary patterns.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by the Diogenes project (Contract No. FP6-513946) from the European Union Sixth Framework Programme. We appreciate the contribution of with Dr Marit van Bakel, IARC, Lyon, and the input of Professor Thomas MS Wolever, University of Toronto, Canada, during the preparation of this manuscript.

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  1. Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

    E J M Feskens

  2. National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands

    H Du

  3. Department of Human Biology, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute Maastricht (NUTRIM), The Netherlands

    H Du

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Correspondence to E J M Feskens.

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Feskens, E., Du, H. Dietary glycaemic index from an epidemiological point of view. Int J Obes 30 (Suppl 3), S66–S71 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803495

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