Nearly 35 percent are under age 18, compared with 26 percent of the nation’s overall population

The problem is urgent, said Dr. Glenn Flores, a Boston Medical Center physician and lead author of the report in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

limited data to understand what’s happening,” said Dr. Elena Fuentes-Afflick, a San Francisco pediatrician and consortium member.

Dr. Dennis Styne, chief of pediatric endocrinology at the University of California at Davis, has many Hispanic patients he said are disproportionately affected by obesity and diabetes.

Styne said genetics and cultural norms may partly explain why. “Middle-class Caucasian culture doesn’t accept heavy body size,” but it may be less of a taboo among Hispanics, he said.

According to the report, data shows that:

Language barriers may explain some of the disparities, the authors said. Hispanics make up just 5 percent of U.S. pediatricians, 2 percent of nurses and 2.8 percent of dentists.

Also, 제천출장업소 Flores said, very few U.S. medical schools have separate courses addressing Hispanic cultural issues.

The report should enlighten decision-makers and help lead to solutions, said Carlos Ugarte, deputy vice president for health at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group not involved in the report.

“A group as large as Latinos affects the entire nation,” Ugarte said. “We’re talking about the future of the country.”

By Lindsey Tanner