Men who include more dairy products in their diets, especially low-fat varieties, may have a lower risk of developing diabetes, according to a new study.

Each added daily serving of low-fat dairy products was associated with a nine per cent lower risk for diabetes over the 12-year study period, the report in Monday's Archive of Internal Medicine said.

Adult onset diabetes – also known as type 2 diabetes – affects approximately 16 million people in the United States and 135 million people worldwide, the report said.

There are more than two million people in Canada with diabetes, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

"Dietary patterns characterized by higher dairy intake, especially low-fat dairy intake, may lower the risk of [adult onset] diabetes," wrote study author Hyon Choi of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The most effective low-fat dairy product was skim milk, the study said. But the authors warned against major diet changes based on the findings.

Ingredients such as whey protein and magnesium may help the body use insulin to process blood sugar. Adult-onset diabetes results from the body's inability to use insulin, or a decline in insulin production.

The doctors couldn't say exactly why low-fat dairy products reduced the rate of diabetes, noting several potential agents are also present in high-fat dairy products such as sour cream and cream cheese.

Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health and one of the study's authors, said there could be a hidden factor and suggested there were many other ways to prevent diabetes.

"Eating high-fibre foods and nuts, and reducing sugar, sweets and beverages. Exercise has been shown to be beneficial," Hu said.

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The authors said health authorities should stress how to prevent diabetes because its complications – cardiovascular disease, amputation, blindness, and renal failure – impose enormous medical and economic burdens.

The study analysed data from 41,254 male participants with no history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer.