I knew when starting this research project that I wanted to look at how gender and diabetes were linked together. I was disappointed when I could not answer the question of “why”. The government publications state that men are at higher risk of developing diabetes than women are, but this is not true for First Nations people. I wanted to know why First Nations women are at higher risk than First Nations men. While many studies point out the higher prevalence among First Nations women, no study that I read said why this was true. My only speculation comes from a study I read on body fat distribution. The study noted that the participants with android obesity when there is more fat at the neck and there is a higher fat-to-muscle ratio in the arm than in the thigh,[1]  This observation makes me wonder if First Nations women are more likely to carry fat in this manner. This is a reasonable explanation, in my opinion, because android obesity is considered to be more common in men, which would explain why non-Indigenous men are at higher risk.[2]

[1] David S. Freedman and Alfred A. Rimm, “The Relation of Body Fat Distribution, as Assessed by Six Girth Measurements, to Diabetes Mellitus in Women,” American Journal of Public Health, 1989, vol. 79, no. 6, 715.

[2] Janjic D, “[Android-type Obesity and Gynecoid-type Obesity,” 1997, web, accessed March 30, 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8992575