Hi Sharon and Lactnetters

 

As you will know, not only "persons of colour".  First Peoples are
especially prone and you'll be aware of this in your work with Apache
clients. This adds a factor when working with new mothers, while being
culturally respectful.  It is something to be kept in mind by health
practitioners who don't usually work with these communities.  In 1992 I
attended the health strand at the International Conference on Self Help &
Mutual Aid in Ottawa, when some of the other speakers discussed health
issues of First Peoples in Canada and the US.  The speakers emphasised the
high levels of diabetes among First Peoples in North America - and
elsewhere.  This is certainly true among Australia's two indigenous races,
Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.  Many years ago I worked
with these communities in a context other than health.  Sadly, today there's
a lot of lower-limb amputations in the Islander community, related to
untreated diabetes.  It's a complex problem, and the concept of the "thrifty
gene" hypothesis has been seriously discussed.  (Information about these
issues is readily searchable online, for Lactnetters who want to learn
more.)

 

Obviously, weight loss and increased activity are recommendations for
adults. A lot of recent Lactnet posts have very comprehensively covered the
effects of *not* breastfeeding and early introduction of bovine milk.  So I
won't cover that here.

 

Virginia

 

On 7 January 2010, Sharon Jimenez wrote:

 

Dear Sheena and other Listmembers,

 

I'm definately not Nikki but feel I have some input related to this
question.  Not the references, which I will be eager to get too, but a
perspective from working in a diabetes prevention program.  There is
increased risk of type two diabetes among persons of color.  I work for a
reservation based diabetes prevention program, and we are endeavoring to
encourage exclusive breastfeeding as a primary prevention measure.

 

There has been some talk of a thrifty gene that helps individuals in
cultures where food is not always plentiful.  It is a helpful adaptation
when times of feasting are alternated with times of famine, but it is not
helpful with a plentiful food supply.  In Native Americans the Diabetes
Prevention Project showed that losing about 10% of body weight (even 10-15
pounds)and being physically active for 150 minutes a week can prevent or
delay the onset of diabetes.  Since you are asking this question because of
your family history, I am assuming your concern is not one that can be fixed
by exclusive breastfeeding but instead relates to diabetes prevention in
adults with this ethnicity.

 

Not a totally Lactnet related topic, but one in which I am vitally
interested. For more information on this off-topic area, contact me via my
work e-mail.

 

Sincerely,

 

Sharon Jimenez, MS, RN, IBCLC

Nurse Educator/Breastfeeding Specialist

Apache Diabetes Wellness Center

 


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