Ethnic Background or Race
Lifestyle choices like diet and physical activity are risk factors for diabetes. However, not many know that ethnicity can also influence the development of the condition. According to the ADA or American Diabetes Association, African Americans, some Pacific Islanders, Asian Americans, and American Indians are generally at a much greater risk than Caucasians for diabetes. Blacks are disproportionately impacted; many are twice more likely to become diabetics by the time they reach middle age.
Until only recently, researchers were unable to understand it. Most believed genes to be the sole culprit. However, some studies suggest that it isn’t the case. White and black people are at the same biological risk level, and the disparity primarily boils down to obesity. It remains one of the leading factors for diabetes, primarily type 2. All the factors collectively referred to as health’s social determinants, like financial resources, education level, communities, and healthcare access, contribute to obesity’s development and complications associated with being overweight.
Ethnicity is something nobody has control over. However, we do have some control over specific environmental factors. So consider locations with better access to nutritious food and healthcare and spaces lending themselves better to exercise.
