People who have recently emigrated from Latin America to the USA have a better level of health than those who have been in the USA for a while. However, these new entrants will find that their health will also go downhill after they have spent some time in the USA.

Who said that the obesity epidemic currently spreading throughout the USA is not contagious? If Latinos are anything to go by – it does not take them long to start experiencing a turn for the worse in their health.

(Latinos or Hispanics = A term used in the USA for people from Latin America)

The longer a Latino remains in America, the fatter he/she is likely to become. He/she may well start experiencing problems with blood pressure, heart disease and the onset of diabetes II. Latinos born in the USA have even higher levels of health problems than those who arrived recently or some time ago.

According to recent estimates, it will not be long before Hispanics make up 24% of the USA’s population.

New Entrants And Those Who Have Been In USA 5 Years Or More

— 22% of Latinos who have been in the USA for at least five years are obese. 16% of those who have been in the USA for less than five years are obese.

— 13% of Latinos who have recently arrived in the USA have hypertension (high blood pressure), after they have been in the country for five years this figure goes up to 19.8%.

— 6.9% of new entrants have diabetes, after 5 years this figure rises to 7.5%.

— 3.5% of new entrants have heart disease, after five years this figure rises to 5.4%.

For Latinos born in the USA, the figures are depressing

— 29.8% are obese

— 24.5% have high blood pressure

— 10.8% have diabetes

— 7.6% have heart disease

The trend in most other developed countries is the other way round. For example, people coming into the UK generally experience an improvement in health after a few years – perhaps this is because the National Health Service in the UK is free for everyone. In the USA, a very high percentage of Latinos have no health insurance cover.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today