For South Asians it is very important to understand, the severity of problems they are facing, and how a healthy lifestyle and diet can help them prevent or control heart disease and diabetes. This presentation has the salient points.

1. Welcome South Asians lets see where we are as a group

2. 64% Asian Indians hold a bachelor’s degree or higher More than 40% hold a master’s degree or doctorate Very High levels of education…Of Course

3. Corollary: Our work, is more sedentary, and our schedules more stressful… We work harder than anyone else…Of Course

4. We make our mark in all fields we enter, be it academia, art, film, government, literature, religion, or sciences At the top in your profession…Of Course

5. And we party quite well…Of Course چاند رات चाँदरात दिवाली সন্দেশ ਗਿੱਧਾ রবীন্দ সংগীত ढोलक क़व्वाली भांगड़ा

6. Our diet has changed from being one of low-fat, high-fiber foods, to one full of higher-fat animal protein, low fiber, and high levels of saturated fat. We are now consuming fast foods and convenience foods. What has this brought? Our food is better than anyone else’s…Of Course চম চম ಮೈಸೂರು ಪಾಕ್ శనగ પાણી પુરી পিঠ தீபாவளி पकोड़ा मुर्ग़ टिक्का فالودہ దీపావళి जलेबी खीर श्रीखंड बालमिठाई गुलाब जामुन

7. People of Indian descent have roughly three times the risk of diabetes compared to U.S. whites as a whole, and a higher prevalence of the disease than people of other Asian ethnicities. Asian Indians in the United States have higher odds of being diabetic despite lower rates of obesity. persons originating from the Indian Subcontinent, are at uniquely heightened risk for type 2 diabetes when compared to other populations Coronary Artery Disease strikes South Asians at four times higher rate compared to the general population in the US. Our rates for diabetes and heart diseases is higher than any other ethnic group !?*#???

8. The standard definition of overweight is a BMI (Body Mass Index) of between 25 and 30; the WHO recommendation sets that at 23 to 27.5 for Asians. We have a higher proportion of body fat at any given weight and particularly likely to have body fat distributions, including more abdominal fat - that is closely associated with diabetes. Do we hold the record in having highest proportion of body fat also???

9. Remember, Earl of Derby said "Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness." Please Do Not Smoke And Make Time to Exercise Every Day

10. "You have thousands of choices and decisions to make everyday. You have the right to not go to the gym, you have the right to follow poor nutritional habits, you have the right to overwork yourself and not get enough sleep. You must accept the fact that your physique has suffered because of the choices that you make everyday." - Robert Cheeke We are a smart group of people – we have to decide…

11. "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." - Ralph Waldo Emerson As a group, we have to learn a new way of living…

12. "Strength is not gained overnight; it is cultivated over time." - David Shaw As a group, lets make a deal to work towards becoming the healthiest ethnic groups in the US

13. It doesn’t take a lot…Walk 9000 steps a day "Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states." - Carol Welch

14. "It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor." - Marcus Tullius Cicero Play Dance Swim

15. "He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything." An Arabian Proverb You are on your way

16. Don’t forget the importance of REST…"Eat + Train + Rest = Growth." - Karen Sessions Sleep is important

17. "To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art." - La Rochefoucauld Learn which foods and cooking methods help you prevent and control heart diseases www.AmritForHeart.com

18. "The future doesn’t just happen, it is created…Our destiny is not in the stars, but in ourselves. We may need to follow in the wake of those who have gone before, but what we do and where we go is ultimately up to us. The attitude of initiative is an on-going state of exploration that is never finished…a journey that never ends." - Unknown Created by Purnima Nandkishore Author of Amrit: Luscious & Heart-Healthy Indian Meals - a MediterrAsian Cookbook Special thanks to Jochen Gros for developing the rules of visual grammar, and creating Emoticons fonts to allow for expression of ideas, beautifully, in small spaces Find his work at http://icon-language.net/