--- title: "Diabetes Risks and Nationality | Sutter Health" description: "What exactly is meant by the statement that \"you might have a higher risk of diabetes due to nationality\"? What does nationality have to do with it? Does it have to do with the foods that a particular nationality eats?" url: "/ask-an-expert/answers/diabetes-risks-nationality-1051061428" --- 1. Home / 2. Diabetes Risks and Nationality # Diabetes Risks and Nationality * * * Medically reviewed by - Astrin Damayanti, R.D. ## Question What exactly is meant by the statement that "you might have a higher risk of diabetes due to nationality"? What does nationality have to do with it? Does it have to do with the foods that a particular nationality eats? ## Answer We often hear that some ethnic groups have more risk for particular health problems such as diabetes or heart disease. Different ethnicities mean genetic differences, and these genetic variations play a role in our health and disease. And within ethnic groups we see differences in social and environmental factors such as where we live, our life style, our diet and activity level- which can all determine our health status as well. Health disparities between different ethnicities could be a combination of both the genetic and environmental factors. The good news is that despite a family history of diabetes, you can reduce your family's risk with lifestyle changes, diet and exercise. ## Explore related topics Diabetes ## Related questions View all questions - Health Q&A ### Are artificial sweeteners safe to use? Are artificial sweeteners safe to use? - Health Q&A ### Avocados: Healthy Fat for Diabetics? I had my gall bladder removed last year. I'm also diabetic. I know I'm supposed to eat low-fat foods. I know avocados contain healthy fat. 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View all questions ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/diabetes-risks-nationality-1051061428#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Diabetes Risks and Nationality"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalWebPage","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/diabetes-risks-nationality-1051061428#medicalwebpage","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/diabetes-risks-nationality-1051061428","name":"Diabetes Risks and Nationality","description":"We often hear that some ethnic groups have more risk for particular health problems such as diabetes or heart disease.","inLanguage":"en-US","medicalAudience":{"@type":"MedicalAudience","audienceType":"Patient"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/diabetes-risks-nationality-1051061428#breadcrumblist"},"mainEntity":{"@type":"Question","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/diabetes-risks-nationality-1051061428#question","name":"Diabetes Risks and Nationality","text":"What exactly is meant by the statement that \"you might have a higher risk of diabetes due to nationality\"? 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