In the study, carried out by the Anglia Ruskin University, rats were fed food consisting of cheese, chocolate bars, biscuits and marshmallows for eight weeks, or a 60% high-fat rodent feed for five weeks.
Blood sugar levels
The researchers then tested the effect of these diets on blood sugar levels and the different glucose transporters in the kidneys.
They found that certain types of glucose transporters as well as their regulatory proteins were present in a higher number in type 2 diabetic rats.
High fat diet
However, a high fat diet and junk food diet caused a similar increase in those receptors.
“There is a link between excessive consumption of this type of food and recent increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes,” said Dr Havovi Chichger, senior lecturer in biomedical science at the Anglia Ruskin University.