Latinos in the U.S. Outlive Whites, African Americans
Latinos living in the United States are setting the standard for life expectancies, outliving both whites and African Americans by years, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and reported by The Associated Press.
The new report, which projected the life spans of Americans based on death certificates from 2006, found that Latinos born in 2006 would likely live to be about 80, compared with a life expectancy of 78 for whites and almost 73 for African Americans.
The longer life expectancy highlights what some experts term the “Hispanic paradox,” longer life spans for a population that is largely poor and undereducated—two markers linked to poor health—and that has higher rates of life-shortening diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Theories explaining the paradox suggest that Latinos who immigrate to the United States are among the healthiest from their countries and are often employed in manual labor, which keeps them physically fit. Researchers say the benefits of those active lifestyles often dissolve within a few generations because children of immigrants often pick up a “sedentary” American lifestyle.
