Effect of Food Order on Postprandial Glucose Excursions in Pre-Diabetes

The natural history of type 2 diabetes commonly follows a pattern of postprandial dysregulation followed by fasting hyperglycemia leading to overt type 2 diabetes. Approximately 38% of the US adult population is estimated to have pre-diabetes. In a previous study of 16 overweight/obese patients with metformin treated type 2 diabetes, using a typical Western meal, investigators demonstrated that a food order in which protein and vegetables are consumed first, before carbohydrate, results in significant lowering of incremental glucose peaks compared to the reverse order. In the present study, investigators seek to expand on the previous findings to gain further insight into the impact of food order in individuals with pre-diabetes, using a meal with different macronutrient composition, in the setting of three meal patterns. The study is designed to be a simple, practical intervention that may have very significant clinical implications for prevention of diabetes in a large population at increased metabolic risk.