When someone has a body mass index (BI) of 30 or higher, they are considered to be obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2016). According to the CDC (2011), obesity is the second highest health issue among adult Latinos. From the United States Census Bureau (2015), Hispanics represented 17.6% of the United States population. In 2003 to 2006, 30% of Mexican American women were more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic white women (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, 2010).
In 2003, Surgeon Richard Carmina described the nation’s obesity epidemic as a national crisis (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, 2010). In 2009, two in every three adults and one in every three children was obese (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, 2010). This was worse for Latino communities who reported staggering proportions of obesity across the states (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, 2010).
According to the CDC (2011), obesity related diseases increase death rate among Latino communities. From the reports, at least half of the deaths contributing factors in the Latino community are obesity related. Some of the morbidity associated with obesity include coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension and certain types of cancer. These are in conjunction with other secondary medical conditions like gallbladder disorders, sleep neap, and respiratory problems. Obesity is also affected by low self-esteem, mood disorders, and depression.
The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (2010) has also documented from various research findings that the issue of obesity is affecting the economy of the country as a whole. With obesity comes discrimination, lack of employment or less productivity at workplaces. This means that the economy as a whole is affected by the drop in income generated per year by these individuals as compared to non-obese individuals. From the National Bureau of Economic Research, 17% of national medical costs are attributed to obesity in the year 2010 (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, 2010). This has been on the rise over the years. The statistics also indicate that over 80% of obese people spent a lot of money on medication (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, 2010).
Measures Taken
The first approach taken was to conduct barbaric surgeries such as gastric bypass procedures to the obese patients to reduce the body absorption of calories and their overall food intake. This measure enabled the obese individuals to reduce the body mass faster and reduce the obesity and overweight related health conditions. This ended up in prolonged life expectancy of most patients who were in constant monitoring by the surgeons through weight loss treatments (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, 2010).
The second measure was to improve the family nutrition and recommend action on this. These efforts included improving mother’s access to prenatal care and hence promote breastfeeding to enhance the health of the children. To increase the inclusion of fruits, grains and vegetables and hence have nutritious diets are home. Also, addressing the food deserts and making the foods fresh foods through local farmer markets (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, 2010).
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