Type 2 diabetes in South Asians

Main Reference: The Elevated Susceptibility to Diabetes in India: An Evolutionary Perspective

Key Points:

• “high diabetes risk at low BMI in South Asians”
• “…failure of the British to distribute famine relief… Famine appears to have become much more frequent during the British era” (eg. Great Bengal Famine of 1770)

Chain of evidences:

1. Relation of central obesity and insulin resistance with high diabetes prevalence and cardiovascular risk in South Asians
2. Exposure to the Chinese Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Hyperglycemia and Type 2 Diabetes in Adulthood
3. Famines in the Last 100 Years: Implications for Diabetes
4. The Susceptibility of South Asians to Cardiometabolic Disease as a Result of Starvation Adaptation Exacerbated During the Colonial Famines

Conclusion: The higher risk of Type II diabetes in South Asia as compared to other regions can be attributed to poor management of recourses by colonial powers.

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