Ethnic Differences in the Prevalence of Diabetes in Underweight and Normal Weight Individuals: The CARRS and NHANES Studies.

•A proportion of individuals may develop type 2 diabetes without overweight/obesity.•A large proportion of Asian Indians type 2 diabetes even with a low BMI.•This was not explained by differences in waist circumference, HOMA-IR, or HOMA-β.•Further studies should examine type 2 diabetes pathophysiology in lean individuals.