Trends on diabetes and obesity prevalence in Latin America and the Caribbean: a review of the literature and new estimates

Flavia Andrade, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Over the last two decades populations around the world have experienced large increases in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and of one of its most important risk factors, obesity. Latin America and the Caribbean, the region on which this paper is focused, will experience even more dramatic changes. An extensive review of the literature on diabetes and obesity trends in the region is presented. Recent data collected in seven countries are used to provide new population-based estimates of diabetes prevalence among elderly people. Results show that diabetes prevalence is higher in Barbados and Mexico. Argentina, Uruguay and Chile have the lowest rates, while Brazil and Cuba have intermediate levels. In Mexico, prevalence rates are higher in urban settings than in rural ones. Self-reported rates for Barbadians, Mexicans and Brazilians are higher than the self-reported rates found in 2001 in the United States.