Why do Latinos in the US have higher life expectancies in the even though they struggle more poverty and diabetes?
Posted by NoHold7153@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 29 comments
Latino Americans life expectancy is 80.0–81.8 years
White Americans life expectancy is 77.5–78.8 years
Black Americans life expectancy is 72.8–75.2 years
suzemagooey@reddit
I've noticed better mental health as a cohort, even in trying circumstances, which appears to translate into lots and lots of better choices being made. Just a guess from limited observation.
GlumFaithlessness392@reddit
It’s literally called the Latino paradox and it’s believed is the strong social structure of the culture that is to credit for this. Although I imagine the fiber and prebiotics from the beans help.
DesignerConfidence15@reddit
Well they cook a lot of their meals instead of fast food or the premade stuff at the stores. They are more active and have a strong family structure. They also tend to be more faithful and go to church which even if you do not believe in God gives a good sense of community and support structure. I think eating homemade food, being active and having lots of friends and family contributes not only to a long life but a better quality of life.
AtheneSchmidt@reddit
A lot of ethnic groups have diets that consist of mostly traditional foods, and most of those are made up of more whole foods, with a lot of veggies. Most Latino cultural foods are based in beans, rice, peppers, & tomatoes, with a ton of fish and seafood for a lot of their proteins. Less red meat, grab and go foods that tend to be packed with sugars and fats to make up for the lack of flavor.
Superb-Fail-9937@reddit
They eat a lot of real food.
redwingsphan19@reddit
This is completely anecdotal, but I work around a lot of latinos and I have noticed they don’t smoke too often.
Downfall_OfUsAll@reddit
Not in my family unfortunately
sitonyouropinion@reddit
Brookklynnnnnn. Them newports are killlersss
LeSkootch@reddit
Same, I never see them smoking but my lord can they drink. Might be something specific to my area but I'd say ~50% of the Latinos (men mostly) I work and am friends with are what would be called functional alcoholics. The coquito one of my friends makes during the holidays can be used as lighter fluid. It's good, though.
Fun_Cardiologist_373@reddit
A portion of latinos are here as non permanent residents for work. When they get too sick or too old to work, they return to their home country. This skews the data.
yourlittlebirdie@reddit
This is an interesting theory that would make a lot of sense. Is there data to back it up?
AdEuphoric1820@reddit
Came here for this!
Common_Vagrant@reddit
My guess is because most Latinos are very traditional and stick with their family more than other ethnicities. Again, this is all speculative but I’m guessing when you’re around your family there’s more people to care about your own well being and be there to help.
yourlittlebirdie@reddit
This has to play a huge role. Loneliness has been shown to be as harmful to your health as drinking and not exercising, and many American Latinos have strong communities and social ties.
HeraThere@reddit
People have mentioned a lot of the cited reasons.
One that I don't see is sample bias.
When they become sick they return to their country of origin.
My cousin's boyfriend did this. Once he started experiencing heart issues he returned to Mexico where he had more access to treatment compared to here.
Perfect-Resort2778@reddit
Despite the stereotype, a good number of Latios do very well in the US. You have to come to terms with the fact that what you see on TV is not real, mostly fake. There are Latinos in the US from all walks of life and in every economic class.
DeanKoontssy@reddit
Healthy migrant effect. People who immigrate tend to be healthier on average than the general population because you need to be in good health to immigrate.
InterviewLeast882@reddit
One theory is eating a lot of beans.
ChessieChesapeake@reddit
Have you seen how happy most Latino folks are? They’re always surrounded by family and friends. They work extremely hard. They have fantastic food and music. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Latino stress about anything, and they seem to become even more relaxed and funnier as they age.
sendme_your_cats@reddit
Do you know about Selena? Yeah so we kinda made a deal with the literal devil. Lost a thing or two but hey, we live a few years longer.
Pretty sweet deal
Chance-Business@reddit
I'm going to guess diet. No knowledge of it, just pure guess.
SatinSheets1@reddit
My guess is family ties. Whenever I have a Hispanic patient they usually have a group of family that take turns caring for them their whole admission
WarProper3733@reddit
They are less sedentary in middle age.
Traditional_Trust418@reddit
Not a clue. I don't know a thing about genetics and I'm not a doctor.
ATLien_3000@reddit
Family is a huge part of it, across socioeconomic levels.
White folks move to the other side of the country and stick mom in a home.
do_something_good@reddit
The family is their support group. Latinos have family around more than other groups, they take care of their aging parents more, have bigger families to shoulder some of the burden (for getting to doctor appts and such). They have less loneliness. Latino women also have lower maternal death rates due to stronger family ties. People need support when theyre in vulnerable positions.
Live-Ad2998@reddit
Idk. Their diet has more legumes, and legumes are really good for you. protein and carb balanced, great fiber source. They are very family oriented, so social support. Loneliness kills. Having good family support gives you a reason to live.
Are you comparing Latinos with other US ethnicities or Latinos in the US vs anywhere else?
The_Motherlord@reddit
Stronger family ties would be my guess.
Trojanheadcoach@reddit
Well they don’t deal with more poverty and diabetes in my experience so idk cuh