US Hispanics Outlive Whites, Blacks

Hispanics in the US can expect to live more than two years longer than the average white person and more than seven years longer than the average black person, according to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report is the strongest evidence yet for the “Hispanic Paradox,” the AP notes. Researchers don’t fully understand why a disproportionately poor, undereducated ethnic group has a higher life expectancy.

On the other hand, US Hispanics live an average of around two years less than their Puerto Rican and Cuban counterparts, and four years less than Mexicans, according to World Health Organization figures. Researchers assume that’s because immigrants or their kids take up smoking, fast food, and other American vices. “The American lifestyle is very sedentary,” says the president of one Hispanic health group. “That’s not a good thing.” (More Hispanic stories.)