Severe Obesity, Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases Common in Young Hispanic Adults

Obesity is common among the U.S. Hispanics and due to this, they are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, a new study states.

In the latest study - led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City - the researchers evaluated the data on body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular disease risk factors among the U.S. Hispanics/ Latino adult populations and said that severe obesity is associated with considerable risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

"For U.S. Hispanics, the obesity epidemic is unprecedented and getting worse," said Robert Kaplan, Ph.D., lead author, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. "Because young adults with obesity are likely to be sicker as they age, and have higher healthcare costs, we should be investing heavily in obesity research and prevention, as if our nation's future depended upon it."

The researchers evaluated the data of a study that include 16,344 people of diverse Hispanic origins from four U.S. cities that included Bronx, Chicago, Miami and San Diego. The average age of the men was 40 years and women's was 41 years. Nearly 37 percent of the participants were of Mexican origin, followed by 20 percent of Cuban and 16 percent of Puerto Rican.

They found that the obesity levels of 18 percent of the women and 12 percent of the men, signalled concern over health risks. Severe obesity was common among young adults, i.e.  between 25-34 years of age, affecting 1 in 20 men and 1 in 10 women. Over 50 percent of the severely obese people have unhealthy levels of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) and inflammation. About 40 percent had high blood pressure and a quarter of them had diabetes.

"This is a heavy burden being carried by young people who should be in the prime of life," he said. "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."

The risk factors for heart diseases and stroke i.e. high blood pressure and diabetes, were more strongly associated with severe obesity among men than in women.

The finding was documented in the Journal of American Heart Association.