Elsevier

Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases

Volume 71, March–April 2022, Pages 20-26
Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases

Current state of unhealthy living characteristics in White, African American and Latinx populations

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2022.05.002Get rights and content

Abstract

The United States (US) is similar to most industrialized countries in that it falls short on many of the basic metrics related to cardiovascular and overall health. These metrics include nutritional patterns, levels of physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and prevalence of overweight and obesity. These issues are even more apparent in underserved communities, among whom unhealthy living characteristics cluster and contribute to a disproportionate chronic disease burden. The reasons for these inequities are complex and include social and economic factors as well as reduced access to health care. CRF has been demonstrated to be a critically important risk factor that tends to be lower in disadvantaged groups. In this article we discuss the current state of health & lifestyle characteristics in the US, the impact of social inequality on health, and the particular role that CRF and PA patterns play in the current state of unhealthy living characteristics as they relate to underserved populations.

Section snippets

Current state of health & lifestyle characteristics in the US

Despite extensive efforts from professional organizations and public health agencies in recent years, the US is failing on many of the basic metrics related to overall and cardiovascular (CV) health. For example, 50% of adults in the US have high blood pressure, but only one in four has it properly controlled.1 The recent Health and Human Services (HHS) Guidelines on Physical Activity2 reports that only 26% of men, 19% of women, and 20% of adolescents meet the recommended amount of physical

PA in hispanic and AA populations

While the health benefits of PA are likely ubiquitous across race and ethnicity, the prevalence of achieving PA recommendations dramatically differs. According to data from the National Health Interview Survey (2018), 20% of AA, 21% of Hispanic, and 26% of White adults meet both the aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines for Americans.46 These differences are more pronounced when considering only the aerobic guidelines, with 47% of AA and Hispanic adults meeting recommendations compared to

CRF and ethnicity

Arguably the most important health related benefit of regular PA, particularly in the form of exercise training, is to improve or maintain CRF. The AHA now recommends CRF be considered a vital sign which should be regularly assessed.58 When compared to other major CVD risk factors, CRF has been shown to be as or more potent for predicting risk of morbidity and mortality.58

As discussed above, PA levels have generally been shown to be lower in AA compared to Whites in the US. Thus, it would be

Summary

Providing adequate education to the public, clinicians, and health systems that physical inactivity and low CRF are critical contributors to cardiometabolic risk and mortality remains a challenge. Recent trends suggest that both PA patterns and CRF have been in decline for several decades,2,84,85 and this problem has disproportionately affected under-served populations.38,44,52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57,65, 66., 67, 68, 69, 70., 71., 72, 73, 74, 75., 76., 77, 78 The benefits of higher CRF and PA

Declaration of Competing Interest

None.

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