By DANNY HAKIM

Maria Watts remembers digging as a child through her family fridge for tamales before school each day. The traditional Mexican fare, left over from one of her family’s nightly sit-down dinners, made for an excellent breakfast hand-prepared by her immigrant mother.

Hispanics are almost twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be diagnosed with diabetes, a life-long, chronic disease characterized by abnormally high levels of blood sugar. Though the disease is always a concern among the Hispanic population, diabetes perceptions vary significantly, according to a recent survey.

The historical passage of the Affordable Care Act guarantees all Americans health care coverage.  In California more than 7 million residents are without health insurance and of that number well over  50% percent are Hispanic.  Covered California is charged with implementing the federal health care law – the Affordable Care Act – and  creating a new insurance marketplace in which individuals and small businesses can get access to health insurance. 

Inequities in access to healthcare, the quality of care received and opportunities to make healthy choices where people live, learn, work and play all contribute to the rates of obesity being higher for Latino adults and children compared to Whites. Also contributing to the higher rates of obesity is the fact that Latino communities experience higher rates of hunger and food insecurity, limited access to safe places to be physically active and targeted marketing of less nutritious foods.^1,2