Long-term exposure to American culture may be hazardous to immigrants' health. A new study found that obesity is relatively rare in the foreign-born until they have lived in the United States — the land of drive-throughs, remote controls and double cheeseburgers — for more than 10 years. The study, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, shows the flip side of the American dream of finding a better life in the land of plenty. "Part of the American dream and sort of life of leisure is that you also have some of the negative effects, and obesity is one of the major side effects of the success of technology and just having a life of leisure," said co-author Dr. Christina Wee of Harvard Medical School. "It's a double-edged sword." ... "Trends in obesity among immigrants may reflect acculturation and adoption of the U.S. lifestyle, such as increased sedentary behavior and poor dietary patterns," [said the report]. "They may also be a response to the physical environment of the United States, with increased availability of calorically dense foods and higher reliance on labor-saving technologies." The results are worrisome, particularly since immigrants often face a language barrier and other obstacles to good health care, the researchers said.| So all you Euro- and Southern Hemispheric-Rantburgers can just forget about moving here. You'll work hard, enjoy the fruits of your labor, raise your kids in freedom, and turn into lazy lardballs like the rest of us cowboys and be too dumb to find out how to see a doctor. Oy. |
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