Running Header: Diabetes among Hispanics and its effects

Community Problem Report

Diabetes among Hispanics and its effects.
James Barker
University of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1301 online, Randi Bossi

Running Header: Diabetes among Hispanics and its effects

2

Tamales, Pan Dulce, Posole, all of these have one thing in common. Theyre all delectable foods
of the Hispanic culture that many of us wouldnt think twice about grabbing second helpings.
However maybe we should, as many of these foods while being a staple in the Hispanic culture,
can also be very deadly for your wellbeing. Just how deadly are they? Try heart disease or even
death. Deadly, as these foods contain ammo for the silent killer known as type two diabetes.
According to B.H Magazine thirty-six point four percent of Hispanics diagnosed with type two
diabetes will die of the associated disease called cardiovascular disease. Scary right? Well what
exactly is diabetes and how does it work?

Lets break it down from the beginning; it starts

with your blood sugar or what is scientifically referred to as glucose. Which translates into
carbohydrates or more commonly referred to as carbs. The relation of the two (Glucose & Carbs)
goes as far as simply all carbohydrates can be broken down into some form of glucose. Your
body or your digestive system to be more precise is designed to act like a transmission in a car.
When food is plentiful, the digestive system uses glucose as metabolism and will store the excess
as fat. Now when food is scarce for example in times of financial uncertainty the body tends to
use up most of its carbohydrates and switches into survival mode by burning the excess fat. Now
converting fat into carbohydrates takes a tremendous amount of energy, so much that the liver
has to get in on the action to lessen the workload by converting the majority of the fat into
something called keytones, which is a long and arduous process and takes again a tremendous
amount of energy. However, the livers work is almost pointless as the red blood and brain cells
are incompatible with the keytones and therefore cannot access the ketones energy. Instead they
rely on an alternate process that uses the circulatory sugars or glucose for energy. Insulin a
chemical catalyst produced by your bodies pancreas, literally acts like a key in the way that it

Running Header: Diabetes among Hispanics and its effects

3

unlocks the cells mentioned in the latter part of the conversation and allows glucose to flood the
cell empowering them much like the same process as when you fuel up your automobile. Insulin
is a key component of your body because when a lack of insulin is present the body cannot
convert sugar starches and various other foods into energy. As a direct result the glucose, blood
equilibrium is lost as glucose levels begin to rise at an alarming rate, much like that of a nuclear
reactor during the meltdown phase. When this equilibrium shift occurs it is what is referred to as
diabetes. As a direct result of this so called equilibrium shift the bodies nerves and blood vessels
can become damaged an experience many abnormalities; such as serious eye and kidney
complications.
Now with the prior knowledge of what diabetes is and how it works and also the short insight of
the complications we dabbled in that are undoubtedly attributed to type two diabetes. We shall
delve deeper into the undying deluge of knowledge presented before you and gander more
meticulously over the complications attributed to type two diabetes, how its linked to Hispanics
and the statistics behind them. Let us first start with a question, when you think of the symptoms
or complications associated with type two diabetes whats the first thing you ponder of? If the
first thing that comes to mind is obesity and high blood pressure youre not too far off as these
symptoms are some of the most commonly voiced ones. These along with some of the more
unheard of symptoms make up the list of complications attributed to type two diabetes that heart
disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, various nervous system disorders,
dental disease, amputations and pregnancy complications. We shall begin with stroke and heart
disease stroke is two to four times higher in Hispanics with diabetes, while Hispanics with type
two diabetes are four times more likely to contract heart disease than their Caucasian counter
parts. Next attributed to the latter two are high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, and

Running Header: Diabetes among Hispanics and its effects

4

various nervous disorders. The statistics as they relate to Hispanics whom have contracted the
type two diabetes disease are as follows: high blood pressure affects sixty-five percent of
Hispanic diabetics, blindness which has been known to be attributed to high blood pressure in a
direct correlation with diabetes affects Hispanics whom are in the age range of twenty to sixty
four years old and is reported to affect some twenty four thousand Hispanics a year. Another
complication directly related to high blood pressure is kidney disease, which has forty percent of
its new cases each year among Hispanics. Also related is the fact that twenty-eight thousand
Hispanics out of the total ninety-nine thousand reported Hispanics that had kidney disease
underwent kidney transplant operations last year. As for the number of Hispanic diabetics that
are affected by nervous system disorders as a direct result of diabetes, it is estimated that some
seventy percent of those diabetics, and the severity varies from mild to extreme. Before we
conclude the stats portion it is imperative we address the remaining complications attributed with
type two diabetes. Those being dental disease, amputations, and pregnancy complications. While
there has been no direct correlation of data noted between these symptoms and their counterparts
it does not diminish the severity of the symptoms. However none the less there will be
misconceptions on the subject so again just because there has been no link found between them
does not belittle the severity of them. Now with that being said we shall move on to addressing
dental disease. While its unclear just how many people are affected by this disease, it is clear
that the symptoms include tooth loss, decay and sometimes even cancer. Now on to the
amputations Hispanic diabetics account for fifty percent of all new lower limb amputees last year
alone. So lets put this into perspective the total number of amputees annually are seventy
thousand, which means roughly thirty four thousand Hispanic diabetics a year are amputated as a
direct result of diabetes. Now on to the pregnancy complications that affect diabetic Hispanic

Running Header: Diabetes among Hispanics and its effects

5

women. Studies have shown that Hispanic diabetic women have a higher infant mortality rate
than women without the disease. The infant mortality rate as it stands is one in five which means
one out of every five children will be dead at birth. One can only imagine the physiological
affects this can have on a person. Well imagine how much of a financial burden it also is. To put
this in perspective we shall take a look at how much the united states government spends on
diabetes funding.

While it is unclear how much exactly the united states has spent on

diabetes this financial period, we do have previous spending reports to look at. To generalize the
idea in two thousand fifteen the united states spent a little over ninety-eight billion on diabetes
related expenses. Lets break this down thirty-seven billion was spent on disability payments,
seventeen billion on infant mortalities and a combined total of forty four billion on other direct
expenses. With that knowledge well at hand lets ponder what that means to the average Hispanic
citizen of the united states.

Well for starters youre going to need to pay for health insurance

to cover your diabetes medicine. Also because your diabetic your premium is going to be higher
as a result of your being diabetic. So the bill for your insurance alone is going to be around one
hundred to two hundred dollars a month, which is not even including your co pay on your
doctors visit or any specially made diabetic food youre going to need. oh and dont forget life
insurance to protect your family should the worst happen. So lets recap that and put a price tag
on it, for al this youre looking at a little over two hundred fifteen dollars at the least and no more
than four hundred at the most. Lets also take into account that we havent even factored in your
rent and utilities along with any personal expenses you may encounter. So think about with all of
what you already pay plus two hundred dollars on top of that? Although the impending costs
related to diabetes are inevitable once you have the disease, there is hope for preventing it if you
dont already have the disease.

So what can you do to save yourself from a lifetime of bills

Running Header: Diabetes among Hispanics and its effects

6

and a very expensive diet? Well lets first take a look at foods you should avoid because they are
foods that traditionally inherit the characteristics of diabetes building blocks. According to mens
xp.com these are foods that are turned into energy quickly and cause a sudden spike in blood
sugar levels. These are called high glycemic foods and include but are not limited to baked items
or snacks made from refined flour, white, bread, pasta and noodles, candy, rice, carbonated
drinks, sugary cereals and instant foods. Also you should avoid irregular eating habits like
skipping breakfast. Another thing you can do is avoid protein overload as while delectable it has
been shown to cause diabetes if eaten in excess. Along with this what you can combine all these
things along with portion mediation eating healthy and working out regularly. However, the latter
is hard for most Americans as they fear the gym so as an alternative to the gym just being active
like playing basketball or tee ball. When all this is combined studies have shown that it is very
effective at combating diabetes. So to put this all into perspective diabetes is a very serious
disease that is running rampant throughout our nation silently. Thousands of Americans every
year contract this silent disease and just about as many die from this disease every year. So the
next time youre at McDonalds and they ask do you want fries with that, think what that means
and ask your self do you really want fries with that. Or if that isnt enough and the next time
youre at the store and skip that broccoli head because its fifty cents more expensive, think is that
fifty cents you save worth five to ten years of your life?

Running Header: Diabetes among Hispanics and its effects

7

References
Hughes, A. S. (2015). Sociocultural influences on perceived risk in Latinos at risk of
developing type 2 Diabetes (1st ed., Vol. 1, Ser. 1). El paso, TX: UTEP.
Montoya, M. J. (2011). Making the Mexican diabetic: Race, science, and the genetics of
inequality. Berkley: University of California Press.
Service, R. (Ed.). (2001, December). Mapping diabetes management new evidence new
options. Buisness and Health.
Obesity Issues in the 51st state (PDF Download Available). (n.d.). Retrieved October 24,
2016, from
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/277597750_Obesity_issues_in_the_51st_sta
te
Diabetes and Mexicans: Why the Two Are Linked. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2016, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1323307/
Food Habits That Cause Diabetes - MensXP.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2016, from
http://www.mensxp.com/health/live-healthy/6590-food-habits-that-causediabetes.html
Diabetes in Mexico - The Economist. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2016, from
http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2013/04/diabetes-mexico