According to the Life
Extension Foundation, Hispanic and Latino Americans have a 90%
increased risk of developing Diabetes compared to Caucasians. It is
estimated that between 9.5% of Hispanic or Latin Americans older than
20 have Type 2 diabetes
that’s roughly 2.5 million people! Mexican Americans are 1.7 times
more likely to have diabetes than any other Hispanic group. However,
Puerto Ricans have the highest death rate from diabetes compared to all
Hispanic groups with a rate of about 172 deaths per 100,000 cases of
diabetes.

The Center for Disease Control reports that as recently as 2002 over 150,000 Hispanic and Latino Americans received chronic dialysis or were living with a kidney transplant.                                             

Check Your Blood Pressure..Any where!

Hispanic and Latin Americans that are at risk for diabetes should take extra care to prevent the onset of the disease. Nutrition and physical activity
are two of the most effective lifestyle changes that people at risk
should make because Type 2 diabetes is a disease that is closely
connected to obesity. Sadly, diabetes is also rising among Hispanic and Latin American children, largely because of obesity.

According to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC),
29% of Mexican-American girls are considered overweight and face a
greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes than girls that have
normal weight. Furthermore, a study by the Third National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey found that 65% of Mexican-American men and
74% of Mexican-American women admitted to spending little or no time
exercising.

Researchers believe that many Hispanic and Latino Americans have
what the researchers refer to as a Thrifty Gene. The gene allowed
members of this population to survive when food was hard to come by
helping them use food energy more efficiently than other races. This
gene may still affect some Hispanic and Latin Americans who have
difficulty controlling their weight. This condition also appears to
relate to high blood pressure.

If you are a Hispanic or Latin American who has diabetes or is
concerned about getting diabetes, it is important for you to speak with
your health care physician. Your physician can recommend a treatment
plan, which may include exercise, medication and nutritional changes.
Preventing the onset of complications associated with Diabetes is possible as long as you take measures to control the disease as early as possible.

Eat Less With Control!      

National Diabetes Education Program

Compliments
of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in conjuction with the
National Diabetes Education Program, you can click here
to listen or watch this podcast: Esta en Tus Manos (In Your
Hands)(3minutes 58 seconds). This podcast offers music with a Latino
beat to promote healthy lifestyle messages. (Este podcast muestra
música con ritmos latinos para promover mensajes sobre estilos de vida
saludable.)

Additionally, you can also listen or watch Es Mi Vida (It’s Your Life) – 4 minutes and 4 seconds long.

Doctor’s Orders: Exercise Safely