Is diabetes just a problem in the USA and other "Western" nations?

Is diabetes just a problem in the USA and other "Western" nations?

Anne Peters, MD, FACP, CDE (Professor and Director of Clinical Diabetes Programs, USC Keck School of Medicine) gives expert video advice on: Is it possible to prevent type 1 diabetes?; Is it possible to prevent type 2 diabetes?; What environmental factors contribute to diabetes? and more...

Diabetes is an epidemic that's happening around the world. The two leading countries, in terms of developing diabetes, actually turn out to be India and China. The reason that is, because, they now have an influx of western dollars. Their societies are doing well, people aren't as poor as they once were. The way that I look at this is, maybe, all of those people who survive all of that poverty have these great genes for survival. Those same genes now, when they have food, are causing them to store food in their center and cause them to go on to get diabetes. In fact, in Asian individuals, the amount of fat they have to have, in their center is much, much less than in someone, say, from East Los Angeles where their guts are much bigger. So, very low levels of obesity or being over weight, Asian individuals develop diabetes. I think they are very good at surviving famine but, now their environment has changed. At least for many of them they are not as poor, they have more food, they have more fast food, they have fast food all over the world and people are getting diabetes.