Speaker
Description
Pacific Island and Indian peoples represent extremes of obesity prevalence but both ethnic groups
have a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and related traits. For the same BMI they
have substantially different fat and fat free masses. We compared the body size, biochemistry and
blood pressure variables of Pacific and Indian adolescent boys and girls.
Despite their younger age, Pacific boys and girls were considerably heavier, taller and adipose, and
had higher blood pressure and lipid levels. Forty percent of Pacific Island children were obese while
more than 40% of Indians were underweight. Measured with whole body dual X‐ray absorptiometry
Pacific Island adolescents had a substantially higher proportion of body fat and higher bone mineral
density than Indian. Despite these differences, Indians had higher glycaemia. Comparison of birth
weights suggests that foetal nutrition and growth patterns could have programmed these
populations differently for later cardio‐metabolic risk.
Lifecourse comparisons of populations with extreme ecological and ethnic characteristics is likely to
improve our understanding of factors affecting cardiometabolic risk at either end of nutritional
exposures.
| Institution | Auckland University of Technology |
|---|---|
| Country | New Zealand |
