India will have 80 million diabetes cases: Claims WHO

Why developing nations are more prone to the risk has been investigated with results published in the journal Cell Metabolism

Indian middle class now have a reason to worry about the nutritional intake of their ancestors. A study published in the journal Cell Metabolism has estimated more people in the developing nations likely to suffer from Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. The main reason attributed to a whopping figure of more than 70% people suffering only in developing nation, is the undernourishment of our ancestors.

The finding of this study has been based on scientific evidence of animals eating a normal diet, and yet enduring extra weight. The conclusion has been made of the fact that such a state of body overweight is only arrived if their ancestors have been undernourished. The researchers from University of Sydney in Australia, the National Centre for Cell Science and the DYP Medical College in Pune, India have jointly commented that diabetes is linked to the nutrition endured by ancestors.

However, the dietary changes in humans have led to surge in take of calories. Our poor metabolic system, which we imbibe from our ancestors, is unable to cope with the new pressure. This results in serious lifestyle diseases being endured by us now. Also, the populations' epigenetic makeup in developing nations, whereby changing environmental factors alter how people's genes are expressed, has not compensated for these dietary changes.

According to PTI,

This scenario was recreated in a 12-year study of two groups of rats by associated professor Anandwardhan Hardikar's team at the University of Sydney and colleagues overseas.

The first group was undernourished for 50 generations and then put on a normal diet for two generations.

The second (control) group maintained a normal diet for 52 generations. At the end of the study it was found that when the descendants of the first group were exposed to a normal diet, these rats were eight times more likely to develop diabetes and multiple metabolic defects when compared to the control group.

"Their adverse metabolic state was not reversed by two generations of nutrient recuperation through a normal diet," Hardikar said.

"Instead this newly prosperous population favoured storage of the excess nutrients as fat leading to increased obesity, cardiovascular disease and metabolic risk for diabetes when compared to their 'developed world' counterparts."

Lower Vitamin B12 levels in the undernourished rats could also be an indicator of this trend, the study said.

"Human studies from Ranjan Yajnik's group at KEM Hospital in Pune, India have demonstrated that low circulating B12 and high folate levels are associated with insulin resistance and Type-2 diabetes," Hardikar said.