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J u n e 2 8 - 2 9 , 2 0 1 8 | A m s t e r d a m , N e t h e r l a n d s

Joint Event on

OBESITY AND WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

VACCINES AND IMMUNOLOGY

International Conference on

Asian Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Volume 8

ISSN:

2249-622X

OBESITY IN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN

COLONIZED COUNTRIES

Rashmi Dixit

Australasian College of Travel and Tropical Medicine, Australia

present an overview of obesity amongst colonized populations during the

nutritional transition, witha focuson IndigenousAustralians, and the interplay

between genetics and environment. Indigenous Australians have higher rates

of obesity (29%-86%) than other Australians (17%), plus higher levels of body

fat for a given BMI, with its attendant cardiovascular risks. Eliciting aetiology

of obesity is highly controversial. Studies that elicit no difference in calorie

intake or macronutrient ratios between thin and fat people within a population

appear to suggest a genetic aetiology. However, case-control studies cannot

reliably establish causality of a ubiquitous exposure. The comparison

between two different time points or geographical locations has shown the

role of drastic changes in calories and macronutrient profiles in creating

upheavals in metabolic health. Genes load the gun, but the environment

pulls the trigger. Those with hunter-gatherer lifestyles that have rapidly and

recently been subject to colonization are particularly prone to obesity and

diabetes. The ‘thrifty genotype’ hypothesis suggests that insulin resistance

conferred a selective advantage during times of food paucity. These genetic

adaptations became counter productive once the food environment changed.

A meta-analysis demonstrated that lower carbohydrate, higher fat diets work

best in those who are insulin-resistant, as in many indigenous populations

in developed countries. Fascinating experiments in which Indigenous

Australians reverted to pre-colonial diets demonstrated weight loss and

reversal of type 2 diabetes. This suggests that supplanting their traditional

diets with modern processed diets has been catastrophic for the metabolic

health of indigenous Australians.

Rashmi Dixit is a paediatric and adult infectious

diseases Specialist with an interest in metabolic

medicine and the interaction between commu-

nicable and non-communicable diseases. She

has completed a second fellowship in Travel

and Tropical Medicine, in which her dissertation

was on obesity in colonised populations and

developing countries, which was published in a

peer-reviewed journal, and has published sever-

al first author papers. She has completed a PhD

at the University of Sydney on influenza in vul

nerable populations, which examined the role

of metabolic risk factors for severe influenza in

indigenous Australians.

rushmi7@gmail.com

BIOGRAPHY

Rashmi Dixit, Asian J Biomed Pharmaceut Sci 2018, Volume 8 | DOI: 10.4066/2249-622X-C1-002