Economic growth is a good thing by most standards, but a new study by researchers at the Ohio State University (OSU) say that may not be the case when it comes to our health.


By way of what researchers call the “thrifty phenotype” hypothesis, the OSU study suggests that if the economic conditions present during fetal development improve dramatically during a person’s childhood, the prospects of poor health (including the proliferation of epidemics like obesity and diabetes) in adulthood increase. In other words, "rapid economic growth could strain bodies developed for a lean world," a summary of the findings[1] states.


According to the hypothesis, pregnant women living in poverty influence fetal development by sending biological signals that adequate nutrition will be hard to come by in life. When children instead grow up under relatively prosperous conditions, their bodies can’t adjust, the study explains.


The link between a person's financial state and their likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes has also been referred to as "disease of affluence," or conditions driven by a community's exposure to refined sugars and processed foods. And they aren't only embedded into communities characterized as affluent.


In the South, particularly among African Americans, poverty was rampant for several generations until industrialization took hold in the 1950s and '60s, the OSU study notes. When economic growth ensued, so did the region's strikingly high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.


“It’s a clash between anticipated lifestyle and the lifestyle that’s realized,” said study author Richard Steckel, explaining how improvements in income translate into the increased consumption of processed foods and sedentary lifestyle that increase a person's risk for obesity and other diseases.


That isn't to say other proven causes of diabetes are moot. "I’m just trying to back up behind those proximate causes and say this is the underlying mechanism: a socioeconomic revolution, a nutrition revolution and a ‘derevolution’ of exercise and work,” Steckel said.


His theory supports findings from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organization published last year comparing diabetes prevalence, food consumption and socioeconomic situations in 173 countries around the world.


Compiling 47 years worth of research, the study authors concluded that while affluence and urbanization may not cause diabetes, economics dictate a country's exposure to refined sugars and processed foods[2] .


Since 1980, the number of diabetics worldwide has ballooned from 152 million to between 285 and 347 million today, the report notes.


In the southern U.S., the growth rate of median income between 1953 and 2001 was 191 percent for blacks and 84 percent for whites, putting African Americans at substantially higher risk for type 2 diabetes if the “thrifty phenotype” theory is true.



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  • 1. Make Bad Dietary Choices


    Over the years, there's been a lot of debate related to diet and longevity. But most experts agree that a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-williams-phd/best-diets_b_2268460.html" target="_blank">diet low in sugar and refined carbohydrates is best</a>. And some studies show that eating a traditional <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN84_S2%2FS0007114500002701a.pdf&code=a4a2995aa69a094808c095f29250a990" target="_blank">Mediterranean diet</a> can add years to your life.




  • 2. Never Check Your Cholesterol


    Just like high blood pressure, <a href="http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-lower-cholesterol-risk" target="_blank">high cholesterol can also increase your risk of heart disease</a> and stroke. Therefore it's a good idea to have your cholesterol checked to see whether you need to undergo certain lifestyle changes or even possibly take some kind of cholesterol-lowering medication. For more information about cholesterol and saturated fats, go <a href="http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats-full-story/" target="_blank">here.</a> Eating certain foods, such as beans, which are rich in fiber and antioxidants, can help lower cholesterol.




  • 3. Mix Alcohol And Prescription Or Illicit Drugs


    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/whitney-houston-prescription-drugs_b_1280439.html" target="_hplink">Even drinking wine with dinner and then taking prescription sleep aides can be a lethal combination</a>. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study found 5.8 percent of people age 50 to 59 used illicit drugs in 2010, up from 2.7 percent in 2002.




  • 4. Never Check For Diabetes


    The number of Americans with <a href="http://www.diabetes.org/" target="_hplink">Type 2 diabetes</a> is expected to rise from 30 million today to 46 million by 2030, when one of every four boomers -- 14 million -- will be living with this chronic disease, according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. <br /> <br />Untreated diabetes can lead to blindness, amputations and clogged arteries that can cause heart attacks and strokes. The test to determine whether you are diabetic is a simple blood test; you should remind your doctor to include it in your annual physical.




  • 5. Pack On The Pounds


    More than one out of every three boomers -- more than 21 million -- will be considered obese by 2030. Already, we are the demographic with the highest and fastest-growing rate of obesity. As we age, our metabolism slows down and we burn fewer calories -- if we don't alter our eating and exercise patterns, weight gain is inevitable. Obesity can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and a host of other life-threatening ailments. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/the-dieting-10-percent-club-losing-weight-after-50_b_1440729.html" target="_hplink">Losing just 10 percent of your body weight</a> has health benefits, so consider that as a goal.




  • 6. Ignore The Signs Of A Heart Attack


    No chest pain doesn't mean no heart attack. <a href="http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/her-guide-to-a-heart-attack" target="_hplink">Women having heart attacks</a> frequently report experiencing a feeling of indigestion and extreme fatigue, while some men say they feel a fullness or a squeezing pain in the center of the chest, which may spread to the neck, shoulder or jaw. When a diabetic has a heart attack, the pain is often displaced to other areas such as the lower back.




  • 7. Get Little Sleep


    Try as you might, you just can't stay asleep, right? You pass out before "60 Minutes" is over, but then wake up around midnight and count sheep until the alarm goes off. If that sounds like you, you aren't alone. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5842a2.htm" target="_hplink">boomers report not getting enough sleep between one and 13 nights each month</a>. Is it life-threatening? In itself, no. But as soon as you slip behind the wheel bleary-eyed, you are putting yourself and others at risk. Your reflexes are slower, you pay less attention and you could become one of the more than 100,000 Americans who fall asleep at the wheel and crash each year. And the <a href="http://drowsydriving.org/about/facts-and-stats/" target="_hplink">National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</a> says that's a conservative estimate, by the way. Driver fatigue results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion in monetary losses.




  • 8. Avoid Exercise


    AARP says the minimum you need to stay healthy are muscle-strengthening exercises twice a week, plus 2.5 hours a week of moderate activity like walking or 75 minutes a week of a more intense activity like jogging. Exercise is also good for your memory: Just one year of <a href="http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-02-2011/keep_your_memory_strong_by_walking.html" target="_hplink">walking three times a week can increase the size of the hippocampus</a>, the part of the brain that's key to memory.




  • 9. Carry The World's Burdens On Your Shoulders


    We're talking about stress with a capital S. Boomers are the sandwich generation, caught in the middle of caring for our parents and our children. We were deeply affected by the recession and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/midlife-crisis-depression-is-ok-the-new-good_b_1470958.html" target="_hplink">boomers have the highest rates of depression</a> by age demographic. Unless we unload, we are going to implode.




  • 10. Carry A Beer Belly And A Caboose


    It isn't just our extra weight; it's where we carry it. An excess of visceral fat causes our abdomens to protrude excessively. We call it a "pot belly" or "beer belly" or if the visceral fat is on our hips and buttocks, we say we are "apple shaped." Cute names aside, scientists now say that body fat, instead of body weight, is the key to evaluating obesity. And guess what? It's all bad.




  • 11. Continue To Smoke


    <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/128183/smoking-age-baby-boomer-bulge.aspx" target="_hplink">Gallup found that baby boomers between the ages of 44 and 54 reported higher levels of smoking</a> than those immediately younger or those who are older. Hard to imagine that they haven't gotten the word yet about the risks cigarettes carry.




  • 12. Drink Too Much


    "Alcohol does all kinds of things in the body, and we're not fully aware of all its effects,"<a href="http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/features/12-health-risks-of-chronic-heavy-drinking" target="_hplink"> James C. Garbutt, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine told WebMD</a>. "It's a pretty complicated little molecule." Among the risks of drinking too much: Higher risk of cancer, heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, dementia, depression and high blood pressure. Drink in moderation: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/07/red-wine-benefits-anti-aging-tips_n_1475079.html" target="_hplink">Red wine, in particular, has been found to increase longevity</a>. The Mayo Clinic <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/red-wine/hb00089" target="_hplink">defines moderation as "an average of two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women</a>."