Energy balance
Higher intake of total and saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but this association is not independent of Body Mass Index (BMI) and disappears after adjusting for BMI.
While high fat intake is linked to higher diabetes risk in unadjusted analyses, this link disappears when you account for body weight. This suggests that managing your weight (BMI) is the key factor, not necessarily cutting out all dietary fat. Focus on maintaining a healthy weight rather than fearing fat itself.
Intakes of total fat (multivariate RR for extreme quintiles 1.27, CI 1.04 –1.55, P for trend < 0.02) and saturated fat (1.34, 1.09 –1.66, P for trend < 0.01) were associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. However, these associations disappeared after additional adjustment for BMI (total fat RR 0.97, CI 0.79 –1.18; saturated fat 0.97, 0.79 –1.20).
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort with rigorous adjustment, but the loss of significance after BMI adjustment limits causal inference regarding fat itself.
Source
Dietary Fat and Meat Intake in Relation to Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Men
Rob M. van Dam et al. · Diabetes Care · 2002
DOI 10.2337/diacare.25.3.417
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