Latino Paradox
Kristina Martic
ID # 2391762
Becoming American- “Latino Paradox”
Hispanic paradox, also known as Latino paradox and the “epidemiologic paradox”, refers to a finding that Hispanic and Latino Americans tend to have comparable or even better health outcomes than white Americans. We have learned that higher socioeconomic statuses such as income and education are related to better health and lower death rates. In this case, the situation is different.
As the doctor from the movie explained, people often have a wrong opinion about Latinos in America. They often see them as dirty people with a lot of infectious diseases. This is far from the truth; Latinos in America are young and healthy people, and thoughts that they are the ones that drain the US health system is a myth.
Even though these people had to go through a process of acculturation, which can be very stressful, they managed to stay even healthier that the ones who stay behind. One of the explanations is that they didn’t adapt completely to the new environment, and that they kept very strong family ties which are one of the most important characteristics of their own culture. These ties and family closeness helped them to settle in the new country. However, when living in America, it is not easy to keep this family ties is not easy.
After five or more years of living in the US, Latinos become much more likely to develop heart diseases and to be obese. The longer immigrants stay in the US, the more they struggle with discrimination, lower paying jobs, bad schools and bad housing. Many young Latinos drop out the school, and because of the cultural isolation, which they are not used to, many young Latino women commit suicide. Because these people are economically unstable, they don’t like to take days off when they are sick, and that makes them even more likely to develop various diseases.
ID # 2391762
Becoming American- “Latino Paradox”
Hispanic paradox, also known as Latino paradox and the “epidemiologic paradox”, refers to a finding that Hispanic and Latino Americans tend to have comparable or even better health outcomes than white Americans. We have learned that higher socioeconomic statuses such as income and education are related to better health and lower death rates. In this case, the situation is different.
As the doctor from the movie explained, people often have a wrong opinion about Latinos in America. They often see them as dirty people with a lot of infectious diseases. This is far from the truth; Latinos in America are young and healthy people, and thoughts that they are the ones that drain the US health system is a myth.
Even though these people had to go through a process of acculturation, which can be very stressful, they managed to stay even healthier that the ones who stay behind. One of the explanations is that they didn’t adapt completely to the new environment, and that they kept very strong family ties which are one of the most important characteristics of their own culture. These ties and family closeness helped them to settle in the new country. However, when living in America, it is not easy to keep this family ties is not easy.
After five or more years of living in the US, Latinos become much more likely to develop heart diseases and to be obese. The longer immigrants stay in the US, the more they struggle with discrimination, lower paying jobs, bad schools and bad housing. Many young Latinos drop out the school, and because of the cultural isolation, which they are not used to, many young Latino women commit suicide. Because these people are economically unstable, they don’t like to take days off when they are sick, and that makes them even more likely to develop various diseases.