Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that keeps a body from using insulin the way it should and making an individual have insulin resistance. The exact cause for these diseases is not known for sure.

In the U.S., black adults are nearly twice as likely as white adults to develop type 2 diabetes. This racial disparity has been rising over the last 30 years. But experts reported that the cause for these health disparities and suggested main factors that play a great role in the occurrence of these diseases including a combination of body mass index, waist measurement, fasting glucose levels, lipids, blood pressure, and lung function.

Another study reported that in a cohort study comparing black and white participants, there was a statistically significant increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes among black women and men. However, after adjustment for modifiable risk factors during young adulthood, the disparity was no longer statistically significant.

With these backgrounds can we accept the thrifty gene hypothesis for the development of type 2 diabetes among black Americans? Is it a valid hypothesis?

Because this hypothesis is untested except providing an evolutionary explanation for the patterns of disease prevalence across human populations