kebaldwin
Thu, Mar-02-06, 05:04
U.S. immigrants gain a new home . . . and weight
A national study showed that after five years in the U.S., immigrants suffered sharply higher rates of obesity, diabetes and other health problems than native-born Americans.
BY FRED TASKER AND JACOB GOLDSTEIN
ftasker~MiamiHerald.com
Is living in the United States good for you? Maybe not, according to a national study released Wednesday.
Immigrants who recently arrived in the U.S. often are healthier than their American counterparts, despite being less likely to have health insurance or a regular doctor, says the study, by the 1998-2003 National Health Interview Survey of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But after five years, immigrants -- particularly Hispanics -- suffer sharply higher rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
''Guess why? Eating habits,'' says Dr. Nilda Soto, who treats mostly immigrant patients at the Open Door Health Center, a free clinic in Homestead. ``The American diet is the worst in the world.''
She also cites unhealthy jobs in high-risk construction or pesticide-polluted field picking. Fifty-one percent of Miami-Dade residents are foreign-born. Immigrants make up 25 percent of Broward's population.
According to the study, which surveyed more than 200,000 respondents divided into non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, Blacks and Asians: ``Foreign-born adults enjoy considerable advantages over their U.S.-born counterparts for many health measures, despite limited access to health care and unfavorable socio-demographic characteristics.''
Overall, U.S.-born residents reported greater problems in four of five areas measured:
Obesity: U.S.-born 23 percent; immigrants 16 percent.
Smoking: U.S.-born 24 percent; immigrants 14 percent.
Diabetes: U.S.-born 6 percent; immigrants 6 percent.
Hypertension: U.S.-born 24 percent; immigrants 20 percent.
Cardiovascular disease: U.S.-born 8 percent; immigrants 7 percent.
''Healthy people immigrate. That could be the reason,'' said CDC researcher Achintya N.Dey, co-author of the study.
But among Hispanic immigrants -- although less-so among non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white immigrants -- the longer they lived in the U.S., the less healthy they became, in all the above areas.
''It's their new lifestyle. Their diets change. Their habits change,'' said Dey. ``Their health starts to deteriorate.''
Soto, who works among fruit and vegetable pickers, among others, also blames dangerous conditions.
''They take higher risks. They do things Americans wouldn't do,'' Soto said.
``They take construction jobs that require them to go up on roofs. Sometimes they're exposed to pesticides. They want to work hard and produce as much as they can to send to their relatives back home.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/health/13995685.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
A national study showed that after five years in the U.S., immigrants suffered sharply higher rates of obesity, diabetes and other health problems than native-born Americans.
BY FRED TASKER AND JACOB GOLDSTEIN
ftasker~MiamiHerald.com
Is living in the United States good for you? Maybe not, according to a national study released Wednesday.
Immigrants who recently arrived in the U.S. often are healthier than their American counterparts, despite being less likely to have health insurance or a regular doctor, says the study, by the 1998-2003 National Health Interview Survey of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But after five years, immigrants -- particularly Hispanics -- suffer sharply higher rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
''Guess why? Eating habits,'' says Dr. Nilda Soto, who treats mostly immigrant patients at the Open Door Health Center, a free clinic in Homestead. ``The American diet is the worst in the world.''
She also cites unhealthy jobs in high-risk construction or pesticide-polluted field picking. Fifty-one percent of Miami-Dade residents are foreign-born. Immigrants make up 25 percent of Broward's population.
According to the study, which surveyed more than 200,000 respondents divided into non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, Blacks and Asians: ``Foreign-born adults enjoy considerable advantages over their U.S.-born counterparts for many health measures, despite limited access to health care and unfavorable socio-demographic characteristics.''
Overall, U.S.-born residents reported greater problems in four of five areas measured:
Obesity: U.S.-born 23 percent; immigrants 16 percent.
Smoking: U.S.-born 24 percent; immigrants 14 percent.
Diabetes: U.S.-born 6 percent; immigrants 6 percent.
Hypertension: U.S.-born 24 percent; immigrants 20 percent.
Cardiovascular disease: U.S.-born 8 percent; immigrants 7 percent.
''Healthy people immigrate. That could be the reason,'' said CDC researcher Achintya N.Dey, co-author of the study.
But among Hispanic immigrants -- although less-so among non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white immigrants -- the longer they lived in the U.S., the less healthy they became, in all the above areas.
''It's their new lifestyle. Their diets change. Their habits change,'' said Dey. ``Their health starts to deteriorate.''
Soto, who works among fruit and vegetable pickers, among others, also blames dangerous conditions.
''They take higher risks. They do things Americans wouldn't do,'' Soto said.
``They take construction jobs that require them to go up on roofs. Sometimes they're exposed to pesticides. They want to work hard and produce as much as they can to send to their relatives back home.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/health/13995685.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp