Abstract: Obesity in Peoples of the African Diaspora Rainford Wilks, Rainford Wilks Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this authorNorma McFarlane-Anderson, Norma McFarlane-Anderson Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this authorFranklyn Bennett, Franklyn Bennett Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this authorHenry Fraser, Henry Fraser Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this authorDaniel McGee, Daniel McGee Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine, South First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153, USASearch for more papers by this authorRichard Cooper, Richard Cooper Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine, South First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153, USASearch for more papers by this authorTerrence Forrester, Terrence Forrester Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this author Rainford Wilks, Rainford Wilks Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this authorNorma McFarlane-Anderson, Norma McFarlane-Anderson Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this authorFranklyn Bennett, Franklyn Bennett Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this authorHenry Fraser, Henry Fraser Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this authorDaniel McGee, Daniel McGee Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine, South First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153, USASearch for more papers by this authorRichard Cooper, Richard Cooper Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine, South First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153, USASearch for more papers by this authorTerrence Forrester, Terrence Forrester Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies, JamaicaSearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):Derek J. Chadwick, Derek J. Chadwick Organizer DirectorSearch for more papers by this authorGail Cardew, Gail CardewSearch for more papers by this author First published: 28 September 2007 https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470514962.ch3Citations: 2Book Series:Novartis Foundation Symposia AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary People of African descent in the Caribbean and the USA originated from the Bight of Benin in West Africa. Although these populations share a common genetic heritage, they now live under different socioeconomical conditions. Assuming genetic similarity, a cross-cultural examination of these peoples in West Africa, the Caribbean and the USA may attenuate the effect of genetic factors and allow the assessment of environmental contributions to a biological outcome. We carried out an epidemiological survey to determine the prevalence of hypertension and the contribution of risk factors to the variation in blood pressure. We measured the height, weight, waist and hip circumferences, and blood pressure of adults in Nigeria, Cameroon, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados and the USA. In urban populations there was a trend towards increasing weight, height, body mass index, and proportions of those overweight and obese going from West Africa to the USA, with the Caribbean being intermediate. The prevalence of hypertension lay on a similar gradient. Given a common genetic susceptibility, urbanization and western acculturation are therefore associated with increasing hypertension and obesity. Citing Literature Ciba Foundation Symposium 201 - The Origins and Consequences of Obesity: The Origins and Consequences of Obesity: Ciba Foundation Symposium 201 RelatedInformation
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-09-28
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
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Cited By Count: 26
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