To assess diabetes prevalence and physical activity among an indigenous population in Mexico.
A total of 101 adult (mean age = 38 years) Mixtec Indians living on the outskirts of Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca, Mexico, volunteered to be measured for height, weight, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, and physical activity.
According to World Health Organization criteria, 2 women were diabetic and 42 subjects (15 men, 27 women) had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Although the population was generally lean, with a mean ± SD body mass index (BMI) of 23.0 ± 2.7 kg/m2 for men (n = 47) and 22.8 ± 3.0 kg/m2 for women (n = 54), the group with normal glucose tolerance had a significantly lower BMI than those with abnormal glucose tolerance (IGT or diabetes). Men were significantly more physically active than women, and a larger percentage of women (54%) than men (32%) had abnormal glucose tolerance. However, within gender groups, there was not a significant effect of physical activity on status of glucose tolerance.
The Mixtec population may be genetically predisposed to non-insulin-dependent diabetes, although their current lifestyle provides a protective effect. Less of a protective effect is seen for females, however. It is expected that further environmental changes impacting energy balance will have the most damaging repercussions for diabetes prevalence among Mixtec women.
