In a report published in medical journal Circulation, researchers have found increasing amounts of obesity in Latin Americans partly due to more consumption of junk food and the prevalence of smoking. According to a Reuters article on the report: “’Latin America differed from other regions studied in INTERHEART by having a larger proportion of heart attack risk due to high blood pressure, abdominal fat and permanent stress,’ the American Heart Association, which publishes Circulation, said in a statement”.
This does not come as a surprise at all to me; during my recent trip to
Links- Circulation, Reuters AlertNet, Huevos Pericos, UCSF Today, Zona Latina, The Latin Americanist
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A couple of points come to mind. First off, as someone who has traveled quite alot to Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) and tried much of the local traditional cuisine, I can say with confidence that traditional eating habits also contribute heavily to the incidence of cardiovascular disease in LAC -- it can't all be laid to rest to the rise of American-style fast-food chains in the region.
ReplyDeleteSecond, the InterHeart study results are "surprising" (as the press reports all keep saying) in part because of the prior paucity of good data & studies on CVD incidence and causes in LAC. Much more research should be done -- I rather suspect that once it is, we'll find that the CVD problem for LAC is much greater than even indicated in this study.
Third, as my blog's "Hearts and Minds in LAC" series explored, not nearly enough is being done to educate the LAC public about the dangers of CVD, the risk factors and what lifestyle changes (in diet, exercise, stress management, etc) they should take to address them. Instead, they are being urged to simply address CVD problems with pharmaceuticals such as statins and hypertension medicines.
Fourth, the data you cite on the spread of smoking in LAC is over 10 years old. The expansion trend is not nearly as clear these days, with drops showing in some key segments such as teens (see, for example http://www.temasactuales.com/temasblog/?p=179
Fifth, I also used to think tougher smoking control measures in LAC were unlikely and even if they did come, they would be poorly enforced and have low rates of compliance. After seeing the results in Uruguay on implementation of its relatively tough public smoking ban [http://www.temasactuales.com/temasblog/?p=160]
I am no longer so certain.
Sixth, there are a number of trends that suggest that policymakers, particularly health officials, have awakened to the seriousness of the issue and will act. There's the new law in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires to require a lite menu at restaurants. A proposed regulation in Brazil to require special labeling on fatty, high-salt and sugary foods. Laws in several Brazilian states to ban such foods from schools. Initiatives to require restaurants to provide basic nutritional information on menus. I'm working on a blog entry on that right now -- you'd be surprised what is going on. Only a start, sure, but further along than I bet most would have guessed LAC to be at this point.
Best regards,
Keith R
Traditional eating habits certainly do contribute, yet the increase of fast-food joints has been very influential in urban aras.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if more government intervention will have a significant impact on diminishng health problems. My gut feeling (pun not intended)is 'no' though government program's may help bring awareness to pressing health problems.
Thanks a ton for your comments and kudos on the work you do on your blog!