title: Thrifty genotype concepts and health in modernising Samoans.
abstract: Thrifty genotype concepts are described and applied to the case of increasing overweight with modernisation. The prevalence of overweight (BMI >= 30 kg/m2) among American Samoans and Western Samoans is increasing substantially as described in surveys conducted in 1976-82 and in 1990-91. There is a possible role of insulin and the sympathetic nervous system in weight gain and energy balance. The thrifty genotype concept provides important hypotheses which can be applied to concrete studies among modernising Samoans.
authors.affiliation: Depts of Medicine and Community Health, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: McGarvey