The growing number of Latinos suffering from obesity and diabetes is being caused by a combination of lifestyle, genetics, and socioeconomic status, according to a recent study.
Latinos are at a significantly higher risk of being overweight and diagnosed with diabetes, according to a recent Fox News Latino article. Brownsville, Texas, a city with a 90 percent Latino population, was the target for the recent study. Dr. Joseph B. McCormick, the dean of the University of Texas School of Public Health, is co-founder of the Hispanic Health Research Center.
“We’re talking about human behavior and decades of building up to this problem,” McCormick said. “Thirty, 40 years ago, we did not have these outbreaks. Our genes didn’t change in that time.”
According to the Office of Minority Health, Latinos are almost twice as likely as members of the general population to be diagnosed with diabetes.
Using the study results, the center created community health care projects, like a local farmer’s market and programs that promote a healthy lifestyle. “This is going to be done when the community decides it no longer wants to have this health burden anymore and wants to do something about it,” McCormick said.