Social Science and Medicine
Volume 72, Issue 5, 2011, Pages 685-693

Migrant networks and pathways to child obesity in Mexico (Article)

Creighton M.J.* , Goldman N. , Teruel G. , Rubalcava L.
  • a Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Departament de Ciències Polítiques i Socials, Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
  • b Princeton University, Office of Population Research, United States
  • c Universidad Iberoamericana, Departamento de Economía, Mexico
  • d CAMBS, Centro de Investigación de Docencia Económicas, Mexico

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold: 1) to assess the link between migrant networks and becoming overweight or obese and 2) to explore the pathways by which migrant networks may contribute to the increasing overweight and obese population of children in Mexico. Using two waves of the Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS), we find that children and adolescents (ages 3 to 15) living in households with migrant networks are at an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese over the period of observation, relative to their peers with no migrant networks. Sedentary behavior and household-level measures of economic wellbeing explain some of the association between networks and changes in weight status, but the role of extended networks remains significant. Community-level characteristics related to migration do not account for any of the observed relationship between household-level networks and becoming overweight or obese. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Author Keywords

Mexico Networks Migration Obesity

Index Keywords

human wellbeing risk assessment statistics Overweight obesity social network social support Mexico school child Humans Adolescent preschool child Socioeconomic Factors risk factor Risk Factors Child, Preschool socioeconomics Article migration body weight Mexico [North America] Sedentary Lifestyle Emigration and Immigration disease association childhood obesity Child health survey
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-79955645615&doi=10.1016%2fj.socscimed.2010.12.006&partnerID=40&md5=f5d11ffb10a4cbcb62a5dda653eea55c
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.12.006
ISSN: 02779536
Cited by: 26
Original Language: English