South Asians are able to mount an anabolic response to resistance exercise training of a similar magnitude as White Europeans with similar increases in muscle mass and strength.
Abstract. Living South Asians have low lean tissue mass relative to height, which contributes to their elevated type 2 diabetes susceptibility, particularly when accompanied by obesity.
Research does show that South Asians, when compared to other ethnic groups, tend to have certain physical characteristics 1,2: Lower levels of lean tissue (muscle) relative to height. Thinner arms and legs. A higher amount of overall central fat storage — aka, belly fat.
Modern South Asians are descendants of a combination of an indegeneous South Asian component (termed Ancient Ancestral South Indians, short "AASI"), closest to Southern Indian tribal groups, and distantly related to the Andamanese peoples, as well as to East Asian people, and Aboriginal Australians, and later-arriving ...
Healthy BMI for South Asians is less than 23 kg/m2.
The average percent body fat, according to DXA, in the study sample was 36.9% (table 3). Mean DXA-assessed percent body fat estimates differed by ethnicity: 36.5% (SE=1.1) in whites, 39.1%(1.0) in blacks, 37.1%(1.4) in Hispanics, and 34.8%(1.1) in Asians.
According to the world and Chinese standards, BMI <18.5 is considered underweight [10, 11], BMI from 18.5 to 25.0 is considered normal weight, BMI from 25.0 to 28.0 is considered overweight, and BMI >28 is considered obese.
Nearly all of the Indian subcontinent's ethnic and linguistic groups are the product of three ancient Eurasian populations who met and mixed: local hunter-gatherers, Middle Eastern farmers, and Central Asian herders.
The two largest language groups in South Asia are Indo-Aryan and Dravidian. Indo-Aryans are most commonly found in Northern India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Dravidians are found mostly in Southern India and small pockets of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Belgium, where people eat 95 grams of fat each day on average, holds the distinction of being the world's most fat-crazed country. Germany, where people eat 86.5 grams of fat each day on average, is second. Finland, where people eat just shy of 81 grams, is third.
South Asians are at higher risk for Type 2 diabetes, up to four times higher than other ethnic groups probably due to a combination of genetics and environment. Recent studies have shown that South Asian diets high in refined ("bad") carbohydrates are associated with diabetes risk factors.
There is an additional aspect that deserves to be considered. Available data beginning at age 18 years through age 80 indicate that males and African Americans have more skeletal muscle mass than females and other ethnic groups across the entire age range, even adjusting for weight and height [41] .
Proposed explanations for South Asian low lean mass range from the long-term impacts of climatic adaptations, through dietary changes with the transition to agriculture and/or the adoption of vegetarianism, to the more recent impacts of severe 19th century famines, which were exacerbated by colonial policies.
Asian and black skin has thicker and more compact dermis than white skin, with the thickness being proportional to the degree of pigmentation. This likely contributes to the lower incidence of facial rhytides in Asians and blacks.
Nepal is the oldest independent sovereign country in South Asia.
At least 21 million of European, Russian, North American and South American nationalities and heritage live in Asia, representing 0.45% of the total population of Asia.
East Asian ethnic groups include the Han Chinese (the largest ethnic group on the planet), Koreans, and Japanese. South Asian ethnic groups can be found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
South Asian people are also more likely to develop health problems that can lead to heart disease, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes – diabetes is up to six times more common in South Asian people.
“South Asian,” “brown” and “Desi” are three that are dominant today. For some, they're apt names to describe inherently similar cultures and a connected history. Others say they paint over a vast array of peoples who make up the subcontinent and its diasporas.
The primary South Asian religions are Hinduism and Islam. Minority religions are Buddhism, Christianity, and Sikhism.
Based on WHO BMI standard the categories are as follows: 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 (normal weight), 25–29.9 kg/m2 (overweight) and ≥30 kg/m2 (obese). For Asians, the WHO Asian BMI categories standard are as follows: 18.5–22.9 kg/m2 (normal weight), 23–27.5 kg/m2 (overweight) and ≥27.5 kg/m2 (obese).
The way BMI is calculated for South Asians is different to the way in which it is calculated for people with a European background. The reason for this is that South Asians have been found to be more at risk of the problems of being overweight such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
These classifications for BMI have been adopted by the NIH and WHO for White, Hispanic, and Black individuals. Because these cutoffs underestimate risk in the Asian population, the WHO and NIH guidelines for Asian individuals define overweight as a BMI between 23 and 24.9 kg/m2 and obesity as a BMI >25 kg/m2.