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Originally Posted by manaboutown
Well, I suppose if one checks for rates of alcoholism, drug addiction and such in an area that is mostly Caucasian, such as TV, or Sweden, most of the alkies and druggies will turn out to be White. The statistics on American Indians I quoted hereinabove compare their rates of alcoholism to that of Americans in general.
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I'm thinking it's likely that Native American alcoholism remains high because a great many of them live in their communities/cultures where consuming it in excess is common.
This is the point that is relevant, imo. From OBB, above.
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A person whose genetics predispose them to becoming obese, raised in a household of people who value a healthy exposure to a variety of foods with an emphasis on healthy eating and exercise, will be less likely to become obese - than someone who is NOT predisposed through genetics, but is raised by people who start them into their childhood on corndogs, candy, and watching TV for entertainment.
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To bolster it (and also sorta support your point), I had a long, interesting conversation with a nationally-renowned psychiatrist at a party many years ago. I asked him about genetic/family behavior predisposition versus upbringing and he replied (paraphrasing),
"That the genetic/familial patterns are there and part of a person but, if they are raised in an environment quite different from those (like in adoption situations), those predispositions/patterns can become quite modified because they aren't being reinforced." Makes sense to me.
An example would be a Native American baby that is adopted shortly after birth and grows-up, say, in a white family in Lexington, KY who only drinks alcohol on holidays. So, the kid doesn't grow-up with much exposure to alcohol - I'm thinking that makes he/she less likely to become a booze addict than if the child grew-up surrounded by those who are and where 'the drink' is a big part of everyday life. Same with violence, verbal abusiveness, etc.