The Thrifty Gene Theory

This theory was proposed by J.A.Neel in 1962. It suggested the reason as to why Indians suffered from a dispeoportionate high rate of Type-2 diabetes.According to him , Indians lived a hunter
gatherer existence for centuries.For their survival, they developed a gene which allowed them to
survive the cycles of feast and famine.Their metabolism was adequate in itself in both these conditions, it utilised the calories efficiently.

With an unsatable food supply, their survival was better as they could somehow store surplus energy
(in the form of fat) during the time of feast.This fat was probably stored as abdominal fat and utilised during famines.

Exposing this gene to abundance of food continuously in the present environment in all likelihood is
proving to be detrimental.