Cause And Effect

But it isn’t the insulin that causes people to become overweight—it’s overeating. For example, in Arizona, members of the Pima Indian tribe suffer terribly from diabetes, with about 50% of all Arizona Pimas developing diabetes before the age of 50. On the other hand, Pima Indians residing in northern Mexico—who are genetically the same as their Arizona cognates—weigh, on average, 50 lbs. less and rarely develop diabetes.

The Pima Indians of northern Mexico eat a high-carbohydrate diet, but don’t eat the highly processed, energy-dense fried foods typically consumed by their Arizona cousins. In addition, the Mexican Pimas lead a much more active lifestyle.

So, eating lots of carbohydrates may increase insulin levels, but it doesn’t result in weight gain and diabetes in genetically similar populations. From this evidence, and other similar data, we can conclude that obesity, not a carbohydrate-rich diet, promotes insulin resistance and diabetes.

« Back