WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Receiving culturally adapted diabetes education was associated with a reduction in weight and body mass index among type 2 diabetics from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Kendra K. Kattelmann, Ph.D., a registered dietician at South Dakota State University in Brookings, and colleagues conducted a six-month study of 114 type 2 diabetic Northern Plains Indians from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe aged 18 to 65 years, who were randomized to receive either standard care diabetes education or diet education based on the components of the traditional Medicine Wheel, which divides consumption between water and teas; traded crops such as corn, bread and potatoes; gathered food such as seeds, nuts and greens; and hunted food such as elk, buffalo and rabbit.

Compared with baseline measurements, participants in the education group had significant weight loss and a decrease in body mass index by the six-month mark, whereas the control group did not, the researchers discovered.

"The culturally based nutrition intervention promoted small but positive changes in weight. Greater frequency and longer duration of educational support may be needed to influence blood glucose and lipid parameters," the authors write.

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