Diabetes among African Americans is on an all-time high. It is one of the most serious health problems facing the community. More than 30 million of them suffer from this condition. Approximately 1.6 African Americans get diabetes for every white American diagnosed with it.
In this connection, it is good to know what are the risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. The same factors that increase the risk for the other populations are the culprits for the African Americans developing this condition. These are genetics, medical risk factors and lifestyle factors.
Genetics include inherited traits. They inherited what they call the thrifty gene from their ancestors which enabled them during famine and feast cycles to adjust when food was scarce. Now that that these cycles are fewer if ever, the thrifty gene makes it harder to control the weight.
Speaking of this, allow me to let you read one doctor's take on this issue. She believes that it is not what we eat nor our lack of exercise that is responsible for us getting overweight but something else. Find out why everyone is so mad at this doctor. She will tell you all about it herself.
The second risk factors are medical and include impaired glucose tolerance, obesity and hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. Hyperinsulinemia refers to higher than normal fasting insulin levels. This often occurs several years before diabetes comes in for good.
The third risk factors are the ones that have something to do with lifestyle. The scientists think that lack of physical activity contributes to high diabetes rates among older African-American women. They say that adequate physical activity protects one against diabetes so it‘s best to counteract this by getting enough exercise.
Representative Cummings wrote in Louisiana Weekly urging the black community to make lifestyle changes to stop the threat of diabetes from them. It is now the fourth main cause of death among the blacks who have almost twice the rate with this disease than the whites. There is more information on diabetes risk factors here.
He said that a lot of the factors leading to diabetes are preventable. The traditional diet the blacks have contribute to this disease and this should change now in order to save lives later. What we eat, he says, is frequently linked to how we die.
Changing the lifestyle by eating less and moving more will spell the difference. He said there's a national movement for every American child to get healthy foods and they're working on it in the congress. However, passing laws is not enough. The community has to work together to educate every one of the risk linked to the every day diet so we can all prevent diabetes.
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