Diabetes  

Hmong & Diabetes

Diabetes

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Why should I watch what I eat?

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One reason for this is genetics (what you inherit from your parents), since diabetes is more common in people of Asian origin. Other reasons, however, include being overweight, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet. These factors increase your chance of getting diabetes.


What are other reasons why Hmong people are obese and getting diabetes?

Many Hmong youth and adults in America are obese or overweight because they have low levels of activity. This is because regular exercise was not culturally important for the Hmong people when they arrived in the U.S.

Back in Thailand and Laos, there was no need to go to the gym! People tended to work in the fields and do more manual labor. They walked around much more since they didn’t always own cars. Both kids and adults did many more chores by hand and didn’t have the conveniences that are in the U.S., like washing machines. All these activities helped people to keep a healthier weight and helped to prevent diabetes, which is partly caused by lack of regular physical exercise.

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Watch Hmong Language Diabetes videos:

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Remember:

Diet and exercise are key in the prevention of Type 2 Diabetes

 

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In addition, many youth in the U.S spend hours and hours watching TV, playing video games, or working on computers. These activities make kids and teens much less physically active then previous generations.

It is also more socially acceptable in the Hmong community to be overweight. However, keep in mind that being overweight is not healthy and can lead to many diseases, such as heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure…not to mention diabetes.

What are other reasons why Hmong people are getting diabetes?

A lot of Hmong Americans are eating both unhealthy American foods as well as a lot of fatty Hmong foods, such as large quantities of pork and red meat. While eating a lot of fatty foods promoted survival and health when food was more scarce in Laos, for instance, it is not true in the U.S., where most people have plenty of food to eat.

Young adults and kids are exposed to a large variety of fattening foods in both the Hmong and American diet making them more obese. Therefore, they are more likely to get diabetes.

PLEASE ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS:

1. Can Type 2 diabetes be caused by obesity or being overweight?

Yes No

The correct answer is Yes!
The correct answer is Yes.


2. Can Type 2 diabetes be caused by an unhealthy diet?

Yes No

The correct answer is Yes!
The correct answer is Yes.



3. Can Hmong-American teens and kids prevent Type 2 diabetes by being more active?

Yes No

The correct answer is Yes!

The correct answer is Yes.

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