Top 9 Reasons South Asians in Western Countries have a Higher Risk of Diabetes - Dixie Bengali

STOP eating all that WHITE RICE!

Reasons South Asians could be more likely to develop diabetes.

It is very scary to think that when compared to persons of European ethnicity, persons of South Asian ethnicity are MORE PRONE to be insulin resistant and therefore at higher risk to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)! But why is this? There are many potential reasons…

A past study demonstrated that those of South Asian descent have skeletal muscles that do not burn fat as effectively as those of European descent.

Another study showed that those of South Asian ethnicity (again compared to those of European ethnicity) tend to show early problems with pancreatic beta cell (cells that store and release insulin) function.

Furthermore, even with similar body mass index (BMI), people with South Asian ancestry seem to store extra fat around their abdomen compared to people with mainly European ancestry. (Imaging studies have actually demonstrated this!)

Yet another factor that may increase the risk of development of diabetes? People with a South Asian ethnic background tend to have lower levels of adiponectin and higher leptin circulating in their bodies. (Leptin has an important role in weight control and appetite.)

Finally, lifestyle factors along with the above genetic predispositions play a very important role in the risk of diabetes for South Asians. South Asians living in both South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and the Western world can have increasing BMI with related increases in belly fat that comes with consuming bigger portions of food. They can eat lots of white rice and products of white rice (major parts of traditional South Asian cuisine) and saturated and trans fat (in Western based “fast food”). Low levels of physical activity and smoking seen in those of South Asian ancestry (and other ethnic groups for that matter) can also be factors that doom South Asians to developing T2DM!

There it is – some of the many reasons people of South Asian ancestry are at increased risk to develop diabetes compared to other ethnicities. Some risks are things for which nothing can be done, but some very important risks can be lowered significantly with healthy lifestyle changes!

Source: Gujral, U. P., Pradeepa, R., Weber, M. B., Narayan, K. M., & Mohan, V. (2013). Type 2 diabetes in South Asians: similarities and differences with white Caucasian and other populations. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1281(1), 51-63.

Top 9 Reasons South Asians in Western Countries have a Higher Risk of Diabetes

9/16/2018

South Asians living in Western countries have a 4–6X higher risk of developing diabetes than other ethnic groups according to some reports. Source: Harvard C. H. Chan School of Public Health).

Causes of type 2 diabetes include:

Inactive lifestyle
Being overweight or obese
Having excess fat around the waist
Smoking
Poor sleeping patterns (too few hours or too many hours)
Depression
Family history of type 2 diabetes
Aging and ethnicity
Consistent consumption of an unhealthy diet such as:

Ingesting excess amount of refined grains of white bread, white rice, noodles and dumpling
Preparing foods with unhealthy fats and oils such as ghee, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, palm oil, and animal fat.
Eating red meat (beef, pork, goat, and mutton) as well as processed meat (ham, bacon, sausage, and deli meats)
Excessive use of sugar in tea, coffee, juice, processed snack foods, and desserts

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