Rise of Obesity in Alaska Examined

	Satellite view of Alaska

Among Alaska Natives, the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease has risen dramatically in recent years. In the Yukon Kuskokwim region in southwest Alaska, diabetes rates went up 177 percent in the past five years.

In May 2002 the WWAMI Science in Medicine Lecturer Dr. Bert Boyer spoke at the University of Washington about his studies of obesity in Alaska. Boyer, associate professor of molecular biology at the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, described an animal model of obesity in hibernating ground squirrels and a study of obesity among Alaska Natives.

Alaskan ground squirrels hibernate eight months of the year. Just before hibernating, they double their weight through voracious eating. Boyer investigated the role of the hormone leptin in the seasonal body-weight cycle of the squirrels.

Why are Alaska Natives experiencing higher rates of obesity? Cultural changes, such as being less physically active than previous generations and eating more of the prepared foods common to the “Lower 48” diet, appear to be among the contributing factors.