Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jenny Chen
November was diabetes awareness month and recent study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) shows that Asian Americans may be more at risk for diabetes than is popularly believed. According to the Asian American Diabetes Initiative at the Joslin Diabetes Center, despite having a lower body weight, Asian Americans are more likely than Caucasians to have diabetes. About 10 percent of Asian Americans have diabetes; and about 90 to 95 percent of Asians with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. The higher rate of type 2 diabetes in Asian descents results from a combination of genetic and environmental influences.
Unlike other racial groups, many Asian Americans can develop diabetes at a weight considered “normal” by the mainstream. This makes it even more important for Asian Americans to maintain healthy weights because even the slightest increase could put them at a significantly higher risk for diabetes, said Dr. William Hsu, Director of the Asian Clinic at Joslin.
Risk factors for diabetes include being overweight, having high blood pressure, gestational diabetes (women who have not shown previous symptoms of diabetes but while pregnant, exhibit higher than normal blood glucose levels), and family history of diabetes.
Dr. Jane Chiang from the American Diabetes Association notes the importance of proactivity with Type 2 diabetes. “Just losing 7% of your body weight can reduce your risk for diabetes by 57%,” Dr. Chiang said. However, many doctors may not think to educate Asian Americans about the risks for diabetes because the common misconception is that Asian Americans don’t get diabetes. Dr. Chiang recommends patients to get tested every 3 years.
“One of my patients was 400 pounds; he had early diabetes he had lost 200 pounds and his diabetes had gone away. For some people you can do something to prevent it…it’s not like cancer,” said Dr. Chiang.
For more information on diabetes and how you can get tested, visit the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org, or the Joslin Center at www.aadi.joslin.org
