We often hear that some ethnic groups have more risk for particular health problems such as diabetes or heart disease.

Different ethnicities mean genetic differences, and these genetic variations play a role in our health and disease. And within ethnic groups we see differences in social and environmental factors such as where we live, our life style, our diet and activity level- which can all determine our health status as well.

Health disparities between different ethnicities could be a combination of both the genetic and environmental factors.

The good news is that despite a family history of diabetes, you can reduce your family's risk with lifestyle changes, diet and exercise.