Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 14, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 517-522

Higher risk for obesity among mexican-american and mexican immigrant children and adolescents than among peers in mexico (Article)

Hernández-Valero M.A.* , Bustamante-Montes L.P. , Hernández M. , Halley-Castillo E. , Wilkinson A.V. , Bondy M.L. , Olvera N.
  • a Center for Research on Minority Health, Department of Health Disparities Research, University of Texas, 1400 Herman Pressler, Houston, TX 77230, United States
  • b Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Mexico
  • c Department of Biostatistics, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
  • d Jefatura de Ensenanza, Centro Médico Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos, Mexico, DF, Mexico
  • e Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
  • f Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
  • g Department of Educational Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States

Abstract

We conducted a cross-sectional study among 1,717 children and adolescents of Mexican origin ages 5-19 years living in Mexico and Texas to explore the influence of country of birth and country of longest residence on their overweight and obesity status. Descriptive statistics were used to compare demographic and anthropometric characteristics of participants born and raised in Mexico (Mexicans), born in Mexico and raised in the United States (Mexican immigrants), and born and raised in the United States (Mexican-Americans). Univariate and multivariate nominal logistic regression was used to determine the demographic predictors of obesity adjusted by country of birth, country of residence, age, and gender. Almost half (48.8%) of the Mexican-Americans and 43.2% of the Mexican immigrants had body mass index at the 85th percentile or above, compared to only 29.3% of the Mexicans (P < .001). Thus, Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants were more likely to be obese than their Mexican peers [Mexican-Americans: odds ratio (OR) = 2.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-3.4); Mexican immigrants: OR = 2.2 (95% CI 1.6-3.0)]. In addition, males were more likely than females to be obese [OR = 1.6 (95% CI 1.2-2.1)], and adolescents 15-19 years of age were less likely than their younger counterparts [OR = 0.5 (95% CI 0.4-0.7)] to be obese. The high prevalence of obesity among children of Mexican origin in the United States is of great concern and underscores the urgent need to develop and implement obesity preventive interventions targeting younger children of Mexican origin, especially newly arrived immigrant children. In addition, future obesity research should take into consideration the country of origin of the study population to develop more culturally specific obesity interventions. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.

Author Keywords

Mexican-Immigrant population Obesity risk Children Minority health disparities

Index Keywords

health disparity Health Status Disparities human statistics obesity Logistic Models ethnology Mexico Cross-Sectional Studies United States Young Adult cross-sectional study Humans Hispanic Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants preschool child female risk factor Risk Factors Child, Preschool prevalence Article adult migration statistical model body mass Mexican Americans Body Mass Index Texas Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84865861474&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-011-9535-9&partnerID=40&md5=e055021ea93e5613a5b13e8a0062e2d0
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-011-9535-9
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 16
Original Language: English