In a recent survey of 939 Hispanic adults living in Utah, the Utah Bureau of Health Promotion learned that 61 percent are overweight or obese and 19 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes, a chronic illness linked to obesity and poor dietary habits. Among Utah's non-Hispanic residents, 52 percent are overweight and 11.8 percent diabetic.

But before you speculate that Hispanic culture may be more tolerant of overweight people and be more likely to prepare fattening and sugary foods for their families, take a look at the white population in the United States, Health Promotion director LaDene Larsen said. Obesity and diabetes have increased dramatically among non-Hispanic children and adults, Larsen pointed out.

"In Mexico, it's very unusual to be obese," Larsen said. "This is about the American culture, not their culture.

There's fast food on every corner; our neighborhoods are not set up for walking," for example. "Our culture isn't supporting good health."

With Utah's Hispanic residents nearing 10 percent of the population, the state Health Department saw a need for a survey of health-related problems affecting Hispanics and by extension all Utahns. With the results showing that the majority of Hispanic adults, like the majority of U.S. residents overall, are overweight, Larsen hopes policymakers will take notice.

Community health clinics and organizations such as Centro de la Familia de Utah need support so they can address the increases in diabetes, heart disease and other weight-related ailments, Larsen said. If clinics have the resources to care for people before they are very ill and end up in the emergency room, costs to taxpayers and insurance premium-payers will drop, she added.

Public health organizations can't do it all, of course. But community groups, including churches and schools, can spread the message about good eating and exercise. Education policymakers "can look past the curriculum and think of a school as a learning environment," Larsen said. Are there vending machines in the halls and greasy pizza in the cafeteria, or whole-grain breads and fruit?

Larsen added, "The churches could be saying, 'Walk to church,' " in decent weather, instead of driving. "And on church night, we could serve healthy foods. We could say, 'Let's not have seven desserts.' "

Companies can also give workers time to exercise three times a week and urge managers to have fruit and whole-grain breads at breakfast meetings, instead of doughnuts or bagels. "People think bagels are so healthy. They're 400 calories and a carbohydrate blast," Larsen said. Sodas are another staple of American life that can predict obesity and diabetes. "You see people with those supersized cups: 800 calories," not to mention the equivalent of several tablespoons of sugar.

Besides sugar, smoking is another life-threatening habit, though not one that has historically plagued Utahns. Nationally, about 25 percent of U.S. adults smoke; in Utah it's 13 percent, since the state's dominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, urges members to shun tobacco. In the Health Department survey, however, 19 percent of the Hispanic adults said they're smokers.

That's still lower than the national average, said Centro de la Familia's Stephen Briles. The 19 percent figure only looks higher because it's compared to Utah's native-born, non-Hispanic population, much of which belongs to the LDS Church.

But Briles agreed with Larsen that Hispanic immigrants, as they adopt U.S. customs, risk health problems. "The traditional Hispanic diet had less sugar and fewer simple carbohydrates," he said. "It was more centered in legumes, vegetables and grains. Now (in the United States), it's a higher fat diet with a lot of additional sugars."

The change from homemade foods to fast foods has increased obesity and diabetes for other ethnic minorities in modern Utah, added Briles, a veteran health educator. "I've seen it happen among American Indians and Pacific Islanders too."

The health advocates also agreed that laws and public funding aren't enough to change anybody's habits. Companies, community groups and schools can share information, for example, about American Lung Association and Cancer Society smoking cessation classes. Businesses can support their employees' need for healthful foods and physical activity.

"We're not doing a good job of saying: Your health is important," said Larsen. Perhaps the state should start at the beginning, in the schools. A large proportion of Utah's 200,000-plus Hispanics are age 18-35 — and their children are in school learning lifelong habits. "The next baby boom is here, and it's them," Larsen said. "They're going to be supporting us baby boomers when we retire."

Source:  Deseret News.