Indians And Obesity

[satty2007]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7385212.stm

[_anon_]

nurture.

[rimmel]

The only one problem I have is when they classify all brown ppl as 'Indian'....like there is North Indians and South Indians and we are so different interms of skin colour, height, weight, hair (thick/thin)..... India is so huge that we all have different diets aswell...I wish they wud split Indians up cos besides genetic differences- you get diet differences ie the rice eating ppl, the desi ghee ppl, the saag ppl, the chicken ppl.......

[Wicked Warrior]

I was with a consultant radiologist who once told me about how he worked with a Sikh doctor in London. The Sikh doctor was doing research into why there was a higher rate of heart disease in the Sikh population. They looked at diet which when closely analysed (they got different families to make their normal meals and then a small portion was taken for analysis). The levels of carbs and fat were similar to Western diets, which didn't really show any link with diet. The gist of the research showed that basically it was genetic.

Sikhs have a genetic propensity for heart disease.

[Jangal Da]

The only one problem I have is when they classify all brown ppl as 'Indian'....like there is North Indians and South Indians and we are so different interms of skin colour, height, weight, hair (thick/thin)..... India is so huge that we all have different diets aswell...I wish they wud split Indians up cos besides genetic differences- you get diet differences ie the rice eating ppl, the desi ghee ppl, the saag ppl, the chicken ppl.......

Excellent point!

You know those normograms for height and weight that are used to detect 'failure to thrive' in kids...There was a move a few years ago by paediatricians in ethnicly dense areas (eg Coventry) to create ones to account specifically for the Subcontinental population. Well the project failed because you rightly point out that the Subcontinent is ethnically very diverse and you cannot compare a South Indian Dravidian to a North Indian Aryan etc.

The obesity problem does however affect many Asian people in the UK and this includes Punjabis. I am certain that within the last year I have read in 'The Tribune Online' that Punjabi towns and cities now have an obesity epidemic.

It is not surprising when you consider that our forefathers toiled hard all day in the fields, ate simple home-made and grown food, went through cycles of natural 'fasting' during droughts, walked/ran/rode on horses to go anywhere. The UK is a temperate climate, where food produce is relatively plenty despite climatic fluctuations. The place is cooler and naturally the indigenous people tolerate higher levels of fat as a protection against this.

p.s Our foremothers also worked hard - grinding grain, spinning wheels, walking to bazaar to buy bangles and cloth, climbing up stairs numerous times to gossip to neighbours (JOKE...JOKE!).

Recently I suggested something to our local gurudwara committee - needless to say it never manifested and so I am determined to one day fork out of my own pocket for this....Our gurudwara has no permanant granthi. The commitee accept Bhais on a 4-6 monthly basis. These guys are in a nutshell 'fresh.' They do their sewa dutifully, eat langar...but when do they get a break? They are not accustomed to the culture of the city and thus rarely go beyond the confines of the gurudwara. So what do you get...A fat Bhai! I suggested installing a good quality running / rowing machine for their use - now what's wrong with that?

pps. My own BMI (body mass index) is 28 which puts me in the overweight and not far off obese category! I know that BMI can exaggerate your risk if you are very muscular (and I work out a lot), but that aside, the latest evidence says that Asians need to aim for normal wight BMIs and basically I'm just going to have to cut right down on caloric intake and increase cardio-exercise.

[rimmel]

There is a lot of comedy value in ure post! I cannot believe you told the gurdwara that the Granthi's are getting fat and how they shud get a rowing machine for them. lol.

But that aside, I think the problem is two fold for the majority of Indian people. Firstly I believe it is due to people mixing diets. What I mean by this is that in the Punjabi community we have lots of nice food. Nice food is not wrong since we all need fat but then you have people who love pakorey/samosa and also incorporate chips/pizza. These people basically mix fatty aspects of each diet.

Now imagine if there wasn't global communication - we wud replace chips/pizza with our dhaal. Many people wudn't eat crisps, chocolates, biscuits etc which wud mean punjabi diet alone works. I therefore feel its only troublesome when you mix it with other diets.

Also I reckon lifestyle choices are to be blamed.

Skipping meals, eating late lunches, eating just before bed = slow metabolism = fat storage. In the old days however - even in England people used to be up at the 4-5am....now a days people are up around 9-10am...imagine if we got up an hour earlier and had a proper routine of eating food at the correct time. This wud mean our metabolism wud be constant.

Also lets try to eat fresh not frozen food. I guess lack of labour intensive work is a factor but I know in India they eat something like 8 rotis wheras I only eat 1 roti!! Since for me food intake is automatically less I dunno how much emphasis to put on diet. I feel its kinda feel its more to do with the fact we get up late, skip meals to work long hours and then we out of all the world communities are more likely to mix the bad foods of both cultures....

In my opinion everyone shud stop eating the following - crisps, bisuits, chocolates, ice-cream, pizza, chips, meat, cheese, bread....stick to only fresh roti, fresh vegetable sabji/dhaal and fruits. Also everyone shud try to eat vegetables/fruits in season. On top of that increase activity time by getting up at 6am everyday. Now all I need to do is get someone to sign up my idea so I can make my billions by selling healthy lifestyle diet plans! :D

[Jangal Da]

Diet and exercise is common sense. A lot of Asians are very hard working in the West and grab high calorie food in between their working day and exercise does not even come into the equation.

When I was a med student (those were the days...alas how I wasted all that free time!) a diabetologist (Dr Vinod Patel - now a Prof I think) who has an interest in Asian health behaviour, once asked, "why do Asians get diabetes?" We were all silent and rather stunned at the question, trying to come up with a quick academic reply...

..."Because they don't have dogs."

A generalisation, but point made.

Not all frozen food is bad - I find frozen veg very convenient (especially when one has kids to fit into a hectic lifestyle) eg peas, but ideally the fresher the better. I do fall for the occassional fish 'n chips with pizza and probably eat too much red meat (before anyone starts, I have an excuse - I live in the jungle and cannot get to Sainsburys because the Mughals are about!!! But occassionally I raid the local chippee!!!).

ps. The only reason why I had the gall to suggest such a thing to the local gurudwara committee is because my father-in-law sits on the committee.

[rimmel]

Not all time was wasted....at least u turned up to firms and diabetic clinics :D I guess medics will always be good at generalisations...esp the Emq's ie if afrocarribean = sarcodosis. If asian and come back from travel = malaria. This is the wonders of Emq's.. Anyways tell me how is life in the Jungle - I hope you are like bhai kaneya and treat the mughals aswell. I hear they are not too different from us. Apparently beneath all the green clothes and under those moustaches they have got feelings too. What say you?

ps - if the gurdwara refused ure offer of buying a rowing machine then don't give up buying once since I am more than happy to take it. Just let me know when you are going to drop it off (need to arrange for someone to be in!)

[Jangal Da]

I will get them some equipment as soon as my finances look more rosy! I am certain that they will accept - its just that they did not want to pay for it themselves. I've heard of a gurudwara down south in London that has a whole gym - the Bhais almost packed their bags and asked me to locate exactly where it is!!!

It must be Slough or Southall I guess...

[Singhstah]

^^ 7 kings gurdvara east london.