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Obese Latinos struggle more than four times as much with binge eating disorder than the overall population, according to a post by The Bella Vita Eating Disorder Program.
Why is binge eating a problem for Latinos?
Dr. Patricia Pitts, founder and CEO of The Bella Vita, mentions three reasons:
- Acculturation (the adjustment to a new culture). “The negative effects of acculturation to American culture on diet and substance use are emerging in the research. Acculturation also carries health risks for both obesity, type two diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.”
- Income. “Low-income individuals must deal with barriers to affordable, quality fruits and vegetables, walking or exercising in unsafe neighborhoods, and finding the time to engage in healthy eating habits while struggling daily to make ends meet. In addition, food-insecure individuals may engage in a pattern of restricting food intake when food is scarce and engaging in overeating when food becomes available again, a pattern that increases the likelihood of obesity.”
- Racism/discrimination. “Racism is a chronic exposure to stress that creates both physical changes in the body and a need to find a way to cope with the stress. The daily oppression and discrimination faced by people of color has tentatively been linked to higher body mass index (BMI) and obesity in some newer studies.”
The Bella Vita is driving awareness of and collaboration to solve Latino eating disorders with a campaign called Eating Disorders Includes Me.
The have a video about “Maria” that emphasizes the importance for the Latino community to identify the sign and symptoms of mental illness and eating disorders while bringing awareness to the need to seek treatment.
“As a community, we must recognize the health risk vulnerability of obesity, poor diet and sedentary lifestyle within the Latino/a community,” Dr. Pitts said in her post. “Addressing concerns such as acculturation, income and racism will help encourage Latinos/as to embrace treatment. Also, it is important to identify eating disorders behaviors which manage deeper underlying mental health concerns.”
Get additional support for eating disorders from The Bella Vita, National Institute of Mental Health, or the National Eating Disorders Association in English or Spanish.
Learn more about Latinos and mental health!
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I know this is a two year old article, but Bias is another reason why some Hispanic people think about or attempt suicide. I’m actually part Filipino, German and English and I ended up looking stereotypically Hispanic and my surname is Spanish due to my Filipino side since the Spanish colonized the Philippines. I’m a woman though and I’ve thought about it for a number of reasons involving my health from a rare disorder that caused learning issues and also I have obvious cancer symptoms Ive tried getting help with. I’ve also been treated poorly and sometimes in very scary situations because of obvious Bias and Prejudice due to my appearance. I’m just saying Bias against people who are Hispanic and “look Hispanic” is a real thing. I apologize if it was in this article but I didn’t notice it, But I do apologize if its in there. I just think it needs to be addressed more. Thank You