Indians are eight times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, partly because of 31 famines during British colonial rule that created a starvation-adapted physiology. This inherited trait stores excess calories as visceral fat, making South Asians more vulnerable to metabolic disorders.
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So why are we Indians 8 times more susceptible to developing metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes? The one-word answer is famines. When an individual undergoes a famine-like situation once in his lifetime, his future generations are 50% more prone to metabolic disorders. Guess how many times certain populations in India underwent famines under the British colonial rule? Once? Nope. 5 times? Nope. 15 times? Not at all. 31 times. 31 times. So give it up for this fabulous Indian body which is starvation adapted. If you eat extra calories, it will go straight to the visceral fat because this is a lean, mean survival machine. Read the caption for 2 more reasons that nobody's talking about. If this is not a wake-up call for all of us South Asians to follow Ayurveda, I don't know what is.