The longer Latinos are here, the more likely they are to become obese, to develop diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. And Latinos born here have even higher rates of those illnesses, a new government report shows.

The analysis of immigrants' health by the federal Centers for Disease Control comes on the heels of a report calling for more educational programs for Latinos, who are expected to increase to nearly one-fourth of the country's population in coming years.

''Failure to close Hispanics' education and language gap risks compromising their ability to both contribute to and share in national prosperity,'' cautions the study by the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

Marta Tienda, a sociology professor at Princeton University and head of the panel that wrote the National Academies report, said Latinos are scattering across the nation and ''transforming their new destinations even as we evolve as a nation.''

''We are in the midst of the Hispanic moment,'' she said at a briefing. But, she added, there are two ominous trends for Latinos - worsening health status and increased risk of family disruption.

The immigrants report, also released Wednesday, promptly documented her health concerns.

It found that 22.0 percent of Latinos who have been in the country five years or more are obese, compared with 16.1 percent who have been here for less than five years.

High blood pressure climbs from 13.4 percent for newer arrivals to 19.8 percent for those here longer.

As they stay longer than five years, diabetes rates rise from 6.9 percent to 7.5 percent and heart disease increases from 3.5 percent to 5.4 percent.

And Hispanic immigrants are among those least likely to have health insurance.

Among Latinos born in this country, 29.8 percent are obese, 24.5 percent report high blood pressure, 10.8 percent are diabetic and 7.6 percent have heart disease.

Among the native-born U.S. population overall, 22.9 percent are obese, 24.3 percent have high blood pressure, 6.1 percent are diabetic and 7.6 percent have heart disease.

The one positive note, smoking declines from 15.3 percent to 13.8 percent among Latinos here more than five years. Some 20.1 percent of U.S.-born Latinos smoke, as do 24.0 percent of the overall population.

Latinos are a diverse group, ranging from families that have resided in this country since the days of the earliest Spanish colonies to the millions of recent immigrants.

And that causes problems in drawing broad conclusions, Stephen J. Trejo of the University of Texas noted.

For example, lack of education is a problem for many Latinos, especially Mexicans, but Cubans have very high rates of education, he said.

The most recent estimates from the Census Bureau show 40.5 million Latinos in a U.S. population of 285.7 million in 2004.

The bureau estimates that immigration and natural increases are adding 1.5 million Latinos annually, a growth rate that will make them nearly 25 percent of the population by 2050.

The key question for the future, the report says, is whether being Latino will evolve into a symbolic identity, as has happened with other groups.