Indian Americans at High Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency

Indian Americans may be at a higher risk for Vitamin D deficiency because of the amount of melanin in their skins, says the author of a new study, published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

According to an article posted in Indiawest.com, the study did not sample South Asian Americans as a group, but Adit Ginde, co-author of the study, told India West Vitamin D deficiency was particularly acute in darker-skinned people.

To read more, please visit: http://www.indiawest.com/readmore.aspx?id=1058&sid=1.

HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign Initiated by the Obama Administration

On March 16, SAHEP members posted an article on HIV/AIDS rates in Washington, DC and the affect that will have on South Asians.

In today's news, the Washington Post, posted an article on Obama's 5-year awareness campaign to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS. This campaign, "Act Against AIDS", includes PSA's, advertising in various modes of public transportation, text messages, and will create a website for detailed information.

According to Kevin Fenton, Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS at CDC, "Every 9 1/2 minutes, someone's mother, someone's daughter, someone's father, someone's friend is infected". Additionally, Fenton indicated that one in five people who have HIV are not aware of it.

While most of the article discusses the impact of HIV/AIDS in the U.S, it also describes the concerns for individuals living in the Washington DC area, as the rate of people living with HIV/AIDS n the DC area is now at 3 percent.

How does this impact South Asians? What can SAHEP do and what can individuals do to raise the awareness of HIV/AIDS?

For more information, please visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/07/AR2009040703717.html?wprss=rss_metro

BMI Not An Accurate Obesity Measurement

The following is an excerpt from a forthcoming article in British Journal of Nutrition claims certain ethnic groups may not be getting accurate estimates of disease risk.

BMI is a formula that estimates a person’s body fat using only his/her weight and height. The result is then used to determine weight categories: 18.5 and below is considered underweight; 18.6 - 24.9 healthy; 25 - 29 overweight and 30+ obese.

In the current study, rather than using other potentially biased methods employed in the past as "gold standards" to examine body composition, researchers used dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, which is a low dose x-ray known as DXA, to determine percent fat. DXA can be used to estimate bone density, lean mass and fat mass.

Since BMI is assumed to represent body fatness, an African American woman would not be considered overweight or obese until she reached a higher number than what is indicated by the current BMI standards. The opposite is the case for Hispanic, Asian and Asian-Indian woman. Their percent fat is higher by 1.65 percent, 2.65 percent and 5.98 percent, respectively. So they would be considered overweight or obese at amounts lower than what the BMI standards indicates. The results for men were similar.

For more information, please visit: http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1666174/bmi_not_an_accurate_obesity_measurement/?wpisrc=newsletter

HIV/AIDS Rate Reaches Three Percent in Nation's Capitol

According to a recent report released by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, the 82-page report states that approximately three percent of the population in Washington, DC has been affected with HIV or AIDS and has been labeled as a "severe epidemic."  According to a recent Washington post article, this rate is even higher than West Africa and is "on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya."

According to the report reasons for the increase in the incidence is a result of three modes of transmission: men having sex with men, heterosexual sex, and infection through drug use. 

Although South Asians are not directly impacted by this increase, how does and will this affect South Asians living in the area?

2009 Asian American Health Conference - A Time for Change: Transforming Opportunities into Action

Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Asian American Health Initiative of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services will be hosting the Asian American Health Conference - A Time for Change: Transforming Opportunities into Action.

There is no cost to attend and registration is required.

For more information regarding this event, please visit: http://www.aahiinfo.org/conference09

2009 South Asian Summit

Location: Washington, DC

Dates: April 24-26, 2009

The 2009 South Asian Summit is hosted by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and the South Asian Law Students Association at the Washington College of Law, American University, as part of the Founders' Day Celebration (a series of events over a 3-month period to commemorate the founding of the Washington College of Law).  The Summit is an opportunity for organizational leaders and community members to engage with policymakers as well as government agencies and to participate in a learning environment to strategize around best practices, common principles, and emerging issues of concern in our community and country using a progressive, social justice framework. 

To register for the event, please visit: http://www.saalt.org/pages/South-Asian-Summit.html

New Survey Results Show Burden of Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease that disproportionately affects South Asians.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a national study that showed in the United States, nearly 13 percent of adults age 20 and older have diabetes, but 40 percent of them have not been diagnosed, according to epidemiologists from the NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose study includes newly available data from an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT).  Diabetes is especially common in the elderly: nearly one-third of those age 65 and older have the disease.  An additional 30 percent of adults have pre-diabetes, a condition marked by elevated blood sugar that is not yet in the diabetic range. 

For more information regarding this report, please visit: http://diabetes.org/diabetescare