Graham

It's not just diabetes which is rife amongst indigenous populations. Kidney disease is also very prevalent as well as high blood pressure and heart disease.

The Northern Territory has or did have the highest reported rate of kidney disease in the world with 80% of patients, indigenous. And the decade up to 1996 saw 42% of the Tiwi clan on the Bathurst and Melville Islands succumb to kidney failure.

Experts state that the high incidences of modern diseases in the indigenous population is a result of poor living conditions, economic disadvantages and poor diet.

And I suspect that those who succumb to any of these modern diseases, thereby weakening the immune system, can predispose their offspring to the same fate, particularly if they continue the risk-taking customs of their forefathers.

Apparently skin infections are also very prevalent in remote communities which can cascade to kidney-weakening diseases.

My experience is that "you are what you eat" and when I witness what some of my tribe gorge themselves on daily, I am not surprised when some also succumb to "modern diseases" such as diabetes, blood pressure, high cholestrol, heart disease etc.

We humans can easily become addicted to processed junk foods and I believe this trait has quickly developed amongst indigenous communities and needs to be urgently addressed!

Hi all, this information provides some clues.

http://genome.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTD020843.html

Fascinating link, Rainer, thanks.

Much of it goes over my head, but what seems pretty clear is that tracking down the genetic patterns that predispose to type 2 diabetes involves looking at multiple sites along the genome: there is no single site of variation that accounts for all the differences in susceptibility.

I think the authors put it very well at the end of part 5:

"However, identifying diabetes susceptibility alleles is just one of the challenges for the years to come. We need to understanding how diabetes risk is influenced by the complex interaction of these alleles with each other and with the environmental exposures encountered during life: in the womb, in childhood, and as adults. And we need to establish how best to translate this understanding into concrete health benefits for humans."

Yes Snout, fascinating indeed. I'm no scientist so the technical jargon leaves me behind too. It proves conclusively that we are all one so called race with different “software and virus susceptibility” - as against old science 'racisms' that purported different sub species of humans with hard wired genetic traits. Cheers!

There is one thing I know about Aboriginals with diabetes , that is that John Howard's Government won't spend enough money on helping the people tackle their massive health problems.They are so much sicker yet so little is spent relative to their problems, it is a disgrace and shames ALL Australians .
As for Aboriginal children and teenagers [the parents and grandparents of today ] being conditioned to a dangerously deficient diet in adult life ,I can say that the regulation fatty corned beef ,white flour bread or damper with jam; and tea so sweet and black, "You could bog a bull in it " that I served up, and saw doled out in the 1960's by cattle station cooks and headstockmen across northern Australia in 4 gallon billy-cans and wash tubs, was undoubtly helping set the scene for a health disaster of huge proportions today.
They were cheap to feed and "look after" and enabled the money to role in .
We must now correct the wrongs and injustices of the past , no matter how much money it takes .

Hi Jim,

Yes we can induldge Bono here calling for aid for Africa (not that they don't need it) but totally ignore the lost lives of Indigneous people and especially children.

Howard is hell bent on carryout the legacy of the right wing from years past in that he's waiting for us all to die out.

He's an astoundingly evil man and by the time people realize this it will be too late.