Preventing a Cardiovascular Disease Epidemic among Indigenous Populations through Lifestyle Changes

Cardiovascular disease (cvd) is the driving force behind thediscrepancy in life expectancy between indigenous and nonindigenousgroups in many countries. preceding cvd manyindigenous groups exhibit a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors,including overweight-obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and highblood pressure. in turn, modifiable lifestyle risk factors contributeto the development of this cluster of cardiometabolic conditions.modifiable lifestyle risk factors include, but are not limited to,physical inactivity, poor nutrition, excessive alcohol consumption,and cigarette smoking. notably, these metabolic and lifestyle riskfactors are relatively simple to monitor and track. the currentreview will look at modifiable cardiometabolic (overweight-obesity,diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure) andlifestyle (physical inactivity, poor nutrition, risky alcohol behavior,and cigarette smoking) risk factors among indigenous populationsfrom australia (aboriginal australians and torres strait islanders),new zealand (m?ori) and the united states (native americans).discussion will focus on the causal relationship between modifiablelifestyle risk factors and cardiometabolic outcomes, as well as,simple measurements for tracking these risk factors.