The burden of Diabetes is on the rise across the globe and the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes, particularly in developing countries appears to be mainly related to the increasing number of overweight and obese individuals all over the world. In Asians the prevalence of diabetes at any body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist–to–hip ratio (WHR) is higher compared to the western population.Central (truncal) obesity has been found to associate more strongly with insulin resistance and with diabetes than generalized obesity. Diabetes and obesity have emerged as a major public health problem and are increasing in rural and urban regions of India particularly Kerala. The prevalence of obesity among people with diabetes in South Kerala is 66%.

Recently, the consumption of low GI ingredients of Kerala cuisine such as red rice and whole grains are being replaced with white rice and commercially available wheat flour. The effect on the consumption of locally available low glycemic index cereals of Kerala cusine on glycemic control and body composition using DXA has not been examined previously. Several studies have used dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to study fatness and fat distribution in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) compared with healthy controls, but none have reported the changes in body composition with LGI recipes of Kerala cuisine. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 24-week intervention with low GI diet of Kerala cuisine on body composition, particularly truncal fat using DXA in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. We hypothesized that an intervention of low GI diet using locally available ingredients of Kerala cuisine in South Indians would significantly decrease the fat mass especially truncal fat mass values and would bring about improvements in glycemic control and cardiometabolic variables .