Public Health Nutrition
Volume 17, Issue 9, 2014, Pages 2037-2044

Overweight and obesity in young Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese migrants of the second generation in the Netherlands (Article) (Open Access)

Dijkshoorn H.* , Nicolaou M. , Ujcic-Voortman J.K. , Schouten G.M. , Bouwman-Notenboom A.J. , Berns M.P.H. , Verhoeff A.P.
  • a Department of Epidemiology, Documentation and Health Promotion, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, PO Box 2200, 1000 CE Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • b Department of Social Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • c Department of Epidemiology, Documentation and Health Promotion, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, PO Box 2200, 1000 CE Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • d Public Health Service of Rotterdam-Rijnmond, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • e Municipality of Utrecht, Public Health Service, Utrecht, Netherlands
  • f Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, Public Health Service of The Hague, The Hague, Netherlands
  • g Department of Epidemiology, Documentation and Health Promotion, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, PO Box 2200, 1000 CE Amsterdam, Netherlands, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

Objective: To examine differences in overweight and obesity of second-generation Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese migrants v. first-generation migrants and the ethnic Dutch. We also studied the influence of sociodemographic factors on this association. Design: Data were collected in 2008 in a cross-sectional postal and online health survey. Setting: Four major Dutch cities. Subjects: In the survey 42 686 residents aged 16 years and over participated. Data from Dutch (n 3615) and second/first-generation Surinamese (n 230/139), Turkish (n 203/241) and Moroccan (n 172/187) participants aged 16-34 years were analysed using logistic regression with overweight (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m2) as dependent variables. BMI was calculated from self-reported body height and weight. Sociodemographic variables included sex, age, marital status, educational level, employment status and financial situation. Results: After controlling for age, overweight (including obesity) was more prevalent in most second-generation migrant subgroups compared with the Dutch population, except for Moroccan men. Obesity rates among second-generation migrant men were similar to those among the Dutch. Second-generation migrant women were more often obese than Dutch women. Ethnic differences were partly explained by the lower educational level of second-generation migrants. Differences in overweight between second- and first-generation migrants were only found among Moroccan and Surinamese men. Conclusions: We did not find a converging trend for the overweight and obesity prevalence from second-generation migrants towards the Dutch host population. Therefore, preventive interventions should also focus on second-generation migrants to stop the obesity epidemic. Copyright © The Authors 2013.

Author Keywords

Ethnicity Generational status Obesity overweight

Index Keywords

Netherlands educational status Health Transition Population Dynamics risk human sex difference Overweight obesity comparative study Logistic Models ethnology Urban Health Cross-Sectional Studies health Young Adult cross-sectional study migrant Humans Adolescent Suriname male Emigrants and Immigrants female prevalence nutrition adult Nutrition Surveys Sex Factors Turkey statistical model body mass Body Mass Index Morocco
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84905252017&doi=10.1017%2fS1368980013002322&partnerID=40&md5=8e02cfb7c0caa55238d771117dff9c92
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980013002322
ISSN: 13689800
Cited by: 9
Original Language: English