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Special Article

Effects of a Traditional Lifestyle on Obesity in Pima Indians

  1. Eric Ravussin, PHD,
  2. Mauro E Valencia, PHD,
  3. Julian Esparza, MS,
  4. Peter H Bennett, MB, FRCP and
  5. Leslie O Schulz, PHD
  1. Clinical Diabetes and Nutrition Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health Phoenix, Arizona
  2. Nutrition Division Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo Sonora, Mexico
  3. Department of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wisconsin
  1. Address correspondence to Eric Ravussin, PhD, Clinical Diabetes and Nutrition Section, 4212 North 16th Street, Room 541, Phoenix, AZ 85016.
Diabetes Care 1994 Sep; 17(9): 1067-1074. https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.17.9.1067
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE The Pima Indians of Arizona have the highest reported prevalences of obesity and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). In parallel with abrupt changes in lifestyle, these prevalences in Arizona Pimas have increased to epidemic proportions during the past decades. To assess the possible impact of the environment on the prevalences of obesity and NIDDM, data were collected on members of a population of Pima ancestry (separation 700–1,000 years ago) living in a remote mountainous location in northwestern Mexico, with a lifestyle contrasting markedly with that in Arizona.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Pima heritage was established by history and by use of Pima language. Measurements of weight, height, body fat (bio-impedance), blood pressure, plasma levels of glucose, cholesterol, and HbA1c were obtained in 19 women (36 ±13 years of age) and 16 men (48 ±14 years of age) and compared with sex-, age- and diabetes status-matched Pimas living in Arizona (10 Arizona Pimas for each Mexican Pima).

RESULTS Mexican Pimas were lighter (64.2 ± 13.9 vs. 90.2 ± 21.1 kg, P < 0.0001; means ± SD) and shorter (160 ± 8 vs. 164 ± 8 cm, P < 0.01) with lower body mass indexes (24.9 ± 4.0 vs. 33.4 ± 7.5 kg/m2, P < 0.0001) and lower plasma total cholesterol levels (146 ± 30 vs. 174 ± 31 mg/dl, P < 0.0001) than Arizona Pimas. Only two women (11%) and one man (6%) had NIDDM, contrasting with the expected prevalences of 37 and 54% in female and male Arizona Pimas, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS This preliminary investigation shows that obesity, and perhaps NIDDM, is less prevalent among people of Pima heritage living a “traditional” lifestyle than among Pimas living in an “affluent” environment. These findings suggest that, despite a similar potential genetic predisposition to these conditions, a traditional lifestyle, characterized by a diet including less animal fat and more complex carbohydrates and by greater energy expenditure in physical labor, may protect against the development of cardiovascular disease risk factors, obesity, and NIDDM.

  • Received November 24, 1993.
  • Revision received March 10, 1994.
  • Accepted March 10, 1994.
  • Copyright © 1994 by the American Diabetes Association

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Effects of a Traditional Lifestyle on Obesity in Pima Indians
Eric Ravussin, Mauro E Valencia, Julian Esparza, Peter H Bennett, Leslie O Schulz
Diabetes Care Sep 1994, 17 (9) 1067-1074; DOI: 10.2337/diacare.17.9.1067

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Effects of a Traditional Lifestyle on Obesity in Pima Indians
Eric Ravussin, Mauro E Valencia, Julian Esparza, Peter H Bennett, Leslie O Schulz
Diabetes Care Sep 1994, 17 (9) 1067-1074; DOI: 10.2337/diacare.17.9.1067
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