Obesity and heart disease are both global problems - the former affecting over 1.4 billion adults and 40 million children under the age of five as of 2008, and the latter resulting in 17.3 million deaths in 2008. New research shows that young Hispanics are often obese and have a higher risk of heart disease.
The obesity and heart disease problems are particularly alarming in the United States: 35.7% of adults and 17% of children and adolescents are either overweight or obese while one in every four deaths each year are a result of heart disease. The latest research conducted led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that many young Hispanics in big cities across the US are suffering from these chronic diseases.
The researchers analyzed data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, which comprised of 16,344 people of diverse Hispanic origin living in the Bronx, Chicago, Miami, and San Diego. The average age of the men and women were 40 and 41, with the three largest groups being Mexican (37%), Cuban (20%), and Puerto Rican (16%). This research, while examining obesity and heart disease, was the first large-scale study to analyze body mass index (BMI) - the measure of body fat based on height and weight - among US Hispanics.
They found that 18% of women and 12% of men had levels of obesity associated with other health risks, meaning their BMI was 35 or over. BMI measurements range from underweight (less than 18.5), normal weight (between 18.5 - 24.9), overweight (between 25 - 29.5), and obese (30 or greater). Those with a BMI of 40 and over, which is a person who is 5' 5" and over 240 pounds, was most common among those aged 25-34, affecting about 10% of this demographic.
"This is a heavy burden being carried by young people who should be in the prime of life," said Robert Kaplan, the lead author of the study, in this Einstein College of Medicine news release . "Young people, and especially men -- who had the highest degree of future cardiovascular disease risk factors in our study -- are the very individuals who tend to neglect the need to get regular checkups, adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors, and seek the help of healthcare providers."
Additionally, over 50% of the severely obese individuals had unhealthy levels of HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) and inflammation, more than 40% had high blood pressure, and over 25% had diabetes. Men were more at risk for high blood pressure and diabetes whereas women were more likely to suffer from the most severe level of obesity.
The study, "Body Mass Index, Sex, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Hispanic/Latino Adults: Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos," was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
