richard wrote:
> I think perhaps the Inuit have adapted to a high fat diet. And as a
> result these people have the greatest problems of any hunter gatherer
> people with a high carb western diet.

Oddly enough, on paper, this is not apparent.  Take diabetes for
example. A 2000 Health Canada report notes that the rate of diabetes
among Inuit (1.9%) is lower (!) than that of the Canadian population at
large.  I've discussed this with both members of Inuit Tapirisat of
Canada (ITC - the national Inuit governmental organization) as well as
your average "joe on the street" Inuk and while they do agree that
diabetes doesn't seem to be quite the problem it is in the Native
population, there is a palpable sense that the epidemic is coming... In
fact, the Canadian government admits that the low rate might be simply
due to the fact that there is a glaring lack of data on diabetes rates
in Inuit communities. The research has just not been done yet.  Wisely,
ITC is not waiting for the stats to come in; they've already started
their community diabetes prevention programs.  I like the way their
programs heavily promote 'country' (traditional) foods, while Native
ones seem to rely more on the standard 'complex carbs & lean meats'
approach, unfortunately.
Cheyenne

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