Diabetes: Why Westernization is Bad For the Tohono O'odham

The most pressing and significant health problem that plagues Tohono O'odham tribe members is diabetes. Mostly due to a lack of exercise and poor diet, a large portion of people in this tribe shop for bakery treats rather than harvest vegetables. Its clear that this American practices of eating fast food and buying instead of making food has reached the reservation. By the way the people at the Cultural Center in the tribe describe it , Westernization has been integrated into the Tohono O'odham diet for decades, creating a large number of people who have diabetes. Diabetes has become more severe in people who continue to eat the same foods and don't exercise. But would diabetes have happened without the strong influence of the U.S.?

Without Westernization, diabetes would be an issue but not to the extent that it is today. With Westernization came fast food restaurants and foods like Cheetos and Twinkies. If the U.S. didn't influence the reservation in terms of food culture and the tribe remained isolated in that respect, those foods would not be in the grocery store Bashas and fast food chains wouldn't exist on the reservation. It is possible,however, that individuals in the tribe would be overweight and perhaps at risk for diabetes,The lack of exercise that the Tohono O'odham tribe completes isn't necessarily due to Western influence. The loss of the cultural belief of hard work to eat food is replaced by convenience. Even if the U.S. no longer influenced the presence of junk food,  a majority the Tohono O'odham will likely get their food from local farmers and harvesters. While this is healthier for them, the lack of exercise still puts them at risk.

The only way for diabetes to diminish almost completely is for tribe members to revert back to their ancestors' food culture. The diet should consist of foods like cholla buds and tepary beans to stablize blood pressure and calorie intake. If the tribe members get the foods themselves, they will be exerting physical force which will help stabilize weight. Thus, only traditional practices of taking and making food will solve the issue of diabetes for the Tohono O'odhaam tribe.