IntroductionDiabetes is a prevalent health disparity within the Latino population. Diabetes is listed as the fifth leading cause of death among the Latino population on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, website in 2009. According to McBean, "the prevalence in 2001 among Hispanics was significantly higher than among black people.” (2317) In other words, within the Hispanic or Latino community, the frequency of diabetes is higher than among other racial or ethnic groups such as blacks and Native Americans. The prevalence of diabetes among Latinos is attributed to social determinants of health such as low socioeconomic status and education level. Additionally, it becomes a significant public health problem when it costs the United States $174 billion in direct and indirect costs, based on the 2007 National Diabetes Fact Sheet published by the CDC. In turn, medical costs are twice as high for a diabetic patient as for a non-diabetic patient. Finally, this high cost becomes another barrier to receiving care for Latinos when some have low socioeconomic status. In this study, past literature and current statistics will provide an explanation for the diabetes health disparity epidemic within the Latino community. There will be another aspect to this disparity in terms of the role of acculturation on Latinos and its impact on the rate at which one gets diabetes. Acculturation is the beginning of the stages of assimilation, rather the way in which one integrates into the dominant culture. In the case of Latinos, it's about adapting to American culture. Additionally, the role of acculturation and cultural lifestyle will be analyzed to validate its role in the high prevalence within the Latino community. After the triggers and the battery...... middle of paper ......ong Latinos. The Journal of Nutrition, 137(4), 860-870. Fitzgerald, N., Hromi-Fiedler, A., Segura-Pérez, S. and Pérez-Escamilla, R. (2011). Food insecurity is linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes among Latinos. Diabetes, 3(4), 24-26. Hu, FB, Manson, JE, Stampfer, MJ, Colditz, G., Liu, S., Solomon, CG, & Willett, WC (2001). Diet, lifestyle and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women. New England Journal of Medicine, 345(11), 790-797. Mainous, AG, Diaz, VA and Geesey, ME (2008). Acculturation and healthy lifestyle among Latinos with diabetes. The Annals of Family Medicine, 6(2), 131-137. McBean, A.M., Li, S., Gilbertson, DT, & Collins, AJ (2004). Differences in diabetes prevalence, incidence, and mortality among older adults in four racial/ethnic groups: white, black, Hispanic, and Asian. Diabetes care, 27(10), 2317-2324.