A 40-year old theory states that certain minorities (Native American, Mexican American, African American, Australian Aborigine or other indigenous groups) are more prone to diabetes due to the cycles of feast and famine in early human history that created a gene to help the body use scarce nutrients - that in sedentary modern lifestyles leads to obesity and diabetes.

The team of Michael Montoya, a researcher at the University of California, Irvine and his Australian counterparts found no evidence supporting such theories from their genetic studies.

According to Dr. Montoya:

"Our study shows that by focusing on genes, researchers miss the more significant and alterable environmental causes of diabetes.

In order to gain a better understanding of the causes of type-2 diabetes, future research efforts will require interdisciplinary teams that assess social, historical and environmental factors as carefully as researchers have studied the genetic factors."

Findings are published in the spring issue of the journal Perspectives in Biology and Medicine.

Read the full report from the University of California, Irvine.