People should switch to eating wholegrain rice because consuming white rice regularly can “significantly increase” the risk of developing diabetes, it was claimed today.
Women are at particular risk from diets high in white rice, according to researchers.
A report from Qi Sun, of the Harvard School of Public Health, USA, published in the British Medical Journal, estimates that the risk rises by 10 per cent with each increased 158g serving of white rice.
The authors of the study analysed four studies – from China, Japan, USA and Australia – to establish if the amount of rice eaten was a cause of the increased risk of type 2 diabetes and to see if it is more prevalent among the Asian population, who eat more white rice than those in the West.
It was found that “higher white rice intake is associated with a significantly elevated risk of type 2 diabetes” and there was a stronger association between white rice consumption and the development of type 2 diabetes among women than men.
Because the Chinese population eats an average of four portions a day, compared with fewer than five portions a week in the West, Asian countries are at a higher risk, say the authors.
To mitigate the risk, the recommend that people should eat whole grains instead of refined carbohydrates such as white rice, to help slow down the global diabetes epidemic.
White rice has less fibre, magnesium and vitamins than whole grain rice, they say.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr Bruce Neal from the University of Sydney, Australia, says further studies are needed to substantiate claims made in the report.
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