You might think Arizona's desert-dwelling Pima Indians and the 
ocean-loving Chamorros would have little in common, but experts at 
yesterday's Micronesian Medical Symposium argued that if Guam's 
childhood obesity epidemic continues, they will share one fate -- 
crippling diabetes. Leslie Baier, of the Phoenix Epidemiology and 
Clinical Research Branch, explained that because of a genetic 
disposition for obesity and diabetes in indigenous populations called 
the "thrifty gene theory," 85 percent of the Pimas suffer from type-2 
diabetes, the highest frequency in the world. Guam is catching up, she 
said.

"The problem is, when an entire population gains weight at once, it 
becomes normal. People accept it. They say 'I'm a Pima. This is how we 
are,'" Baier said. Symposium coordinator Dr. Saied Safa estimated that 
25 percent of Guam's population already has diabetes, which can cause 
heart disease, kidney failure, stroke, blindness and amputation. Even 
scarier, he said, is that youth obesity is causing the disease in 
children under the age of 10. The average diabetic population for 
Pacific Islanders is around 15 percent, and the disease is traditionally 
not diagnosed until middle age. Type-2 diabetes is completely 
preventable through a balanced diet and exercise. Another presenter, Dr. 
Robert Nelson, explained that as pregnancy and diabetes overlap on Guam, 
children will be born predisposed toward the disease and it will spread 
exponentially. He said Chamorros currently reflect the Pimas around the 
1940s, just before their diabetes skyrocketed when they entered into 
this cycle of diabetic birth. "We need major changes in the lifestyle 
and diet of families and the community ... to at the very least delay 
the onset of this disease into adulthood to slow the spread," he said.

Dr. Larry Agodoa, Director of the Office of Minority Health Research 
Coordination explained yesterday that diabetes can easily shorten a 
person's lifespan by 20 years. If the disease is left unchecked on Guam, 
"parents will start to bury their children," he said. But that's not all 
-- it's expensive, too. According to Agodoa, less than 1 percent of the 
United States' Medicare-dependent population suffers from 
diabetes-induced kidney failure, but they consume around 8 percent of 
the total funds. Last year, $32 billion was spent to treat this symptom 
alone. Nelson agreed that widespread diabetes could cripple Guam not 
just physically, but economically as well. "When (the people of Guam) 
should be saving for retirement, or spending money on their children's 
education -- all the things middle-aged people do to contribute to 
society -- instead they'll be paying for dialysis," he said.

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