<P> Various hereditary conditions may feature diabetes, for example myotonic dystrophy and Friedreich's ataxia . Wolfram's syndrome is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder that first becomes evident in childhood . It consists of diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, and deafness, hence the acronym DIDMOAD . </P> <P> While obesity is an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes that may be linked to lifestyle, obesity is also a trait that may be strongly inherited . Other research also shows that type 2 diabetes can cause obesity as an effect of the changes in metabolism and other deranged cell behavior attendant on insulin resistance . </P> <P> However, environmental factors (almost certainly diet and weight) play a large part in the development of type 2 diabetes in addition to any genetic component . Genetic risk for type 2 diabetes changes as humans first began migrating around the world, implying a strong environmental component has affected the genetic - basis of type 2 diabetes . This can be seen from the adoption of the type 2 diabetes epidemiological pattern in those who have moved to a different environment as compared to the same genetic pool who have not . Immigrants to Western developed countries, for instance, may be more prone to diabetes as compared to its lower incidence in their countries of origins . Such developments can also be found in environments which have had a recent increase in social wealth, increasingly common throughout Asia . </P>

A population group that has a genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes is