Cultural groups suffer from lactose intolerance?

Lactose intolerance is prevalent among various cultural groups, particularly those with ancestral backgrounds in Asia, Africa, and Indigenous populations of the Americas. This condition arises from reduced levels of lactase, the enzyme required to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk. As many of these populations historically did not rely on dairy as a staple in their diets, the genetic adaptation to continue producing lactase into adulthood is less common. In contrast, populations with a long history of dairy consumption, such as many Europeans, tend to have higher rates of lactase persistence.