Genetic Diversity Among Atkins Users?

[burtonator]

This is just an observation and in no way scientific.

Most of the members of this forum that I've seen so far are generally white and of European ancestry.

I don't see many of Asian ancestry.

Considering that rice is such an important part of Asian culture (China, Thailand, etc), and that both rice and noodles are filled with carbs
, could it be that Asians have a genetic advantage when it comes to monitoring their blood sugar levels?

Kevin

[matawguro]

Re: Genetic Diversity Among Atkins Users?

Considering that rice is such an important part of Asian culture (China, Thailand, etc), and that both rice and noodles are filled with carbs
, could it be that Asians have a genetic advantage when it comes to monitoring their blood sugar levels?

Not really. There are a lot of other factors to be considered:

1. Serving sizes - To a typical Filipino (I'm Filipino), serving sizes in the US and European countries are huge. Whenever I travel to these countries, I have to remember that a single dish order is almost equal to two dishes in the Philippines in size. I've also seen a typical bento box (something like a luch box) in Japan. Even if it's mostly rice, I doubt the serving size would satisfy the typical caucasian.

2. Junk foods - Junk foods were not a staple in most asian countries until most recently. During my grade school years, eating at McDonalds was a once a week treat. These days, urban professionals eat at these establishments three times daily. It's no wonder obesity is starting to become a problem even in asian countries.

3. Home-cooked meals - Back in the 70s, here in the Philippines, most meals were home-cooked. There very few mixes or kitchen helpers in the market. You basically cooked from scratch. You also took these meals to work. Also, soft-drinks were not a stable of home meals. Softdrinks were usually reserved for nacks or parties. Even then, the typicl Coke bottle was 8 oz. There were no 12 oz. cans back then.

4. Physical activity - Until recently, working people in developing asian countries did more walking and commuting to work than their western counterparts. In most rural areas, people still do a lot of manual labor.

In short, it's simply the western lifestyle. As asian countries start adopting western lifestyles, the obesity problem starts to get worse.

[big_bad_john]

Re: Genetic Diversity Among Atkins Users?

What a relief! When I read the title "genetic diversity among Atkins users" I thought you were talking about my extra tail I grew after splicing my genes with an orangutang.

Still having trouble getting this fur to blow fry though.....

[jcapulet]

Re: Genetic Diversity Among Atkins Users?

I am of Asian ancestry. My mother is from Thailand, my father is American (caucasian).

I don't really know the answer to this, as I've wondered it myself. However, I agree with matawguro regarding junk food. As western fast food chains begin to spread East, it seems obesity does as well.

I have relatives in the outskirts of Bangkok who are (mostly) all thin. They eat no fast food and barely any junk food, it's just not a part of their lifestyle. Everything is home-cooked, fresh and from high quality ingredients. No sugar on anything...more like fish sauce or soy sauce. They eat lots of veggies too...chopped papaya salad, for example (yummy!). Rice or rice noodles are included in most meals, but not eaten in excess amounts.

If I ate this way, would I be thin as well? I don't know...I can only comment on what I have observed. Very interesting subject!

[not2late]

Re: Genetic Diversity Among Atkins Users?

Robbie and Jcapulet have made very good points. When I was a kid, we lived in a diverse neighborhood and had Filipino, Chinese, Italian and African neighbors. I was friends with the kids, so I used to eat at their homes often. While rice was eaten during meals, their meals had alot of veggies. And the proportion of veggies to rice and meat was probably 2:1. The veggies were leafy veggies, lower glycemic squashes or the lower glycemic root vegetables.

Also the meat was usually stewed with an equal amount of veg and was served with at least one addition side dish of cooked vegetable. If the meat wasn't stewed, like fried fish, it was served with at least 2 vegetable side dishes. Dessert was fresh fruit---if dessert was served at all.

Of course during the special meals like birthday parties and other celebrations, the 'party foods' would show up on the menu. But those party foods were not the everyday meals.