Westernised asians prone to diabetes
24 May 2002
Even slightly overweight Australians of Asian descent are prone to diabetes, a professor has warned.
Associate Professor Edward Janus, director of medicine and intensive care at Wimmera Health Care Group in Horsham, Victoria, said it seemed that genetically, Asian people were more prone to diabetes, and this risk further increases when they adopt Western eating habits.
These habits include eating takeaways and fried foods, eating out more often, changing their cooking habits and exercising less.
'. . . even slightly overweight Asians are prone to diabetes and should be encouraged to, as much as possible, stick to their traditional, low-fat, Asian diet,' Professor Janus said.
He told the World Cardiology Congress in Sydney earlier this month how his research team measured the cholesterol and blood pressure of nearly 3000 Hong Kong residents and conducted a dietary analysis of 1000.
People living in Singapore had 3 times more deaths from heart disease than those in Hong Kong, mainly because their cholesterol levels were higher due to more dietary saturated fat, coconut and palm oil. The oil used in Hong Kong was more often soybean oil.
Professor Janus said that while his research was on Asian people living in Asia, his comments were probably also relevant for Asian-Australians as they were more likely to adopt adverse eating habits in Australia than Asia.
Last Reviewed: 27 May 2002
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 24/5/02
