Top

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health

Published in:

Open Access 01-02-2011 | Original Paper

Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity among Children of Mexican Descent: Results of a Binational Study

Authors: Lisa G. Rosas, Sylvia Guendelman, Kim Harley, Lia C. H. Fernald, Lynnette Neufeld, Fabiola Mejia, Brenda Eskenazi

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 1/2011

Abstract

The prevalence of childhood obesity is high among young children of Mexican origin in the United States, however, the determinants are poorly understood. We conducted a binational study with a sample from California (CA) and Mexico (MX), to identify and compare the most important factors associated with overweight and obesity among children of Mexican descent. Significantly more children were classified as overweight or obese in CA compared to MX (53.3 vs. 14.9%, P < 0.01). In CA and MX, having an obese mother was significantly associated with being overweight or obese. In MX, male gender, high socioeconomic status and very low food insecurity were associated with being overweight or obese. These data offer hypotheses for how migration may influence the high prevalence of overweight among the Mexican children in California.

Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000. JAMA. 2002;288:1723–7.CrossRefPubMed

Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. JAMA. 2002;288:1728–32.CrossRefPubMed

Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999–2002. JAMA. 2004;291:2847–50.CrossRefPubMed

Strauss RS, Pollack HA. Epidemic increase in childhood overweight, 1986–1998. JAMA. 2001;286:2845–8.CrossRefPubMed

Flegal KM, Ogden CL, Carroll MD. Prevalence and trends in overweight in Mexican-American adults and children. Nutr Rev. 2004;62:S144–8.CrossRefPubMed

Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, McDowell MA, Tabak CJ, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999–2004. JAMA. 2006;295:1549–55.CrossRefPubMed

Guo SS, Wu W, Chumlea WC, Roche AF. Predicting overweight and obesity in adulthood from body mass index values in childhood and adolescence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:653–8.PubMed

Deshmukh-Taskar P, Nicklas TA, Morales M, Yang SJ, Zakeri I, Berenson GS. Tracking of overweight status from childhood to young adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2006;60:48–57.CrossRefPubMed

Nader PR, O’Brien M, Houts R, Bradley R, Belsky J, Crosnoe R, et al. Identifying risk for obesity in early childhood. Pediatrics. 2006;118:e594–601.CrossRefPubMed

10.

Sundquist J, Winkleby MA. Cardiovascular risk factors in Mexican American adults: a transcultural analysis of NHANES III, 1988–1994. Am J Public Health. 1999;89:723–30.CrossRefPubMed

11.

Davidson JA, Kannel WB, Lopez-Candales A, Morales L, Moreno PR, Ovalle F, et al. Avoiding the looming latino/hispanic cardiovascular health crisis: a call to action. J Cardiometab Syndr. 2007;2:238–43.CrossRefPubMed

12.

Hunt KJ, Resendez RG, Williams K, Haffner SM, Stern MP, Hazuda HP. All-cause and cardiovascular mortality among Mexican-American and non-hispanic white older participants in the San Antonio Heart Study—evidence against the “hispanic paradox”. Am J Epidemiol. 2003;158:1048–57.CrossRefPubMed

13.

Hunt KJ, Williams K, Resendez RG, Hazuda HP, Haffner SM, Stern MP. All-cause and cardiovascular mortality among diabetic participants in the San Antonio Heart Study: evidence against the “hispanic paradox”. Diabetes Care. 2002;25:1557–63.CrossRefPubMed

14.

Winkleby MA, Fortmann SP, Rockhill B. Health-related risk factors in a sample of Hispanics and whites matched on sociodemographic characteristics. The Stanford five-city project. Am J Epidemiol. 1993;137:1365–75.PubMed

15.

Popkin BM, Udry JR. Adolescent obesity increases significantly in second and third generation U.S. immigrants: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. J Nutr. 1998;128:701–6.PubMed

16.

Kaiser LL, Melgar-Quinonez HR, Lamp CL, Johns MC, Harwood JO. Acculturation of Mexican-American mothers influences child feeding strategies. J Am Diet Assoc. 2001;101:542–7.CrossRefPubMed

17.

Haas JS, Lee LB, Kaplan CP, Sonneborn D, Phillips KA, Liang SY. The association of race, socioeconomic status, and health insurance status with the prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents. Am J Public Health. 2003;93:2105–10.CrossRefPubMed

18.

Gordon-Larsen P, Harris KM, Ward DS, Popkin BM. Acculturation and overweight-related behaviors among Hispanic immigrants to the US: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Soc Sci Med. 2003;57:2023–34.CrossRefPubMed

19.

Nelson JA, Chiasson MA, Ford V. Childhood overweight in a New York City WIC population. Am J Public Health. 2004;94:458–62.CrossRefPubMed

20.

Ariza AJ, Chen EH, Binns HJ, Christoffel KK. Risk factors for overweight in five- to six-year-old Hispanic-American children: a pilot study. J Urban Health. 2004;81:150–61.PubMed

21.

Warner ML, Harley K, Bradman A, Vargas G, Eskenazi B. Soda consumption and overweight status of 2-year-old Mexican-American children in California. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006;14:1966–74.CrossRef

22.

Van Hook J, Balistreri KS. Immigrant generation, socioeconomic status, and economic development of countries of origin: a longitudinal study of body mass index among children. Soc Sci Med. 2007;65:976–89.CrossRefPubMed

23.

Duerksen SC, Elder JP, Arredondo EM, Ayala GX, Slymen DJ, Campbell NR, et al. Family restaurant choices are associated with child and adult overweight status in Mexican-American families. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:849–53.CrossRefPubMed

24.

Hernandez-Valero MA, Wilkinson AV, Forman MR, Etzel CJ, Cao Y, Barcenas CH, et al. Maternal BMI and country of birth as indicators of childhood obesity in children of Mexican origin. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007;15:2512–9.CrossRef

25.

Butte NF, Cai G, Cole SA, Wilson TA, Fisher JO, Zakeri IF, et al. Metabolic and behavioral predictors of weight gain in Hispanic children: the Viva la Familia Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;85:1478–85.PubMed

26.

Kimbro RT, Brooks-Gunn J, McLanahan S. Racial and ethnic differentials in overweight and obesity among 3-year-old children. Am J Public Health. 2007;97:298–305.CrossRefPubMed

27.

Fuentes-Afflick E, Hessol NA. Overweight in young Latino children. Arch Med Res. 2008;39:511–8.CrossRefPubMed

28.

Abraido-Lanza AF, Chao MT, Florez KR. Do healthy behaviors decline with greater acculturation? Implications for the Latino mortality paradox. Soc Sci Med. 2005;61:1243–55.CrossRefPubMed

29.

Dixon LB, Sundquist J, Winkleby M. Differences in energy, nutrient, and food intakes in a US sample of Mexican-American women and men: findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994. Am J Epidemiol. 2000;152:548–57.CrossRefPubMed

30.

Guendelman S, Abrams B. Dietary intake among Mexican-American women: generational differences and a comparison with white non-Hispanic women. Am J Public Health. 1995;85:20–5.CrossRefPubMed

31.

Neuhouser ML, Thompson B, Coronado GD, Solomon CC. Higher fat intake and lower fruit and vegetables intakes are associated with greater acculturation among Mexicans living in Washington State. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104:51–7.CrossRefPubMed

32.

Sundquist J, Winkleby M. Country of birth, acculturation status and abdominal obesity in a national sample of Mexican-American women and men. Int J Epidemiol. 2000;29:470–7.CrossRefPubMed

33.

Barcenas CH, Wilkinson AV, Strom SS, Cao Y, Saunders KC, Mahabir S, et al. Birthplace, years of residence in the United States, and obesity among Mexican-American adults. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007;15:1043–52.CrossRef

34.

Fuentes-Afflick E. Obesity among Latino preschoolers: do children outgrow the “epidemiologic paradox”? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:656–7.CrossRefPubMed

35.

Popkin BM, Gordon-Larsen P. The nutrition transition: worldwide obesity dynamics and their determinants. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004;28(Suppl 3):S2–9.CrossRefPubMed

36.

Institute of Medicine. Joint U.S.-Mexico workshop on preventing obesity in children and youth of mexican origin: summary. Washington DC: The National Academies Press; 2007.

37.

Filozof C, Gonzalez C, Sereday M, Mazza C, Braguinsky J. Obesity prevalence and trends in Latin-American countries. Obes Rev. 2001;2:99–106.CrossRefPubMed

38.

Rivera JA, Barquera S, Campirano F, Campos I, Safdie M, Tovar V. Epidemiological and nutritional transition in Mexico: rapid increase of non-communicable chronic diseases and obesity. Public Health Nutr. 2002;5:113–22.CrossRefPubMed

39.

Olaiz G, Rivera JA, Shamah T, Rojas R, Villalpando S, Hernandez M, Sepulveda J. Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutricion, 2006. Cuernavaca, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica; 2006.

40.

Jimenez-Cruz A, Bacardi-Gascon M, Spindler AA. Obesity and hunger among Mexican-Indian migrant children on the US-Mexico border. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003;27:740–7.CrossRefPubMed

41.

Ayala GX, Elder JP, Campbell NR, Slymen DJ, Roy N, Engelberg M, et al. Correlates of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio among Mexican women in the United States: implications for intervention development. Womens Health Issues. 2004;14:155–64.PubMed

42.

Perichart-Perera O, Balas-Nakash M, Schiffman-Selechnik E, Barbato-Dosal A, Vadillo-Ortega F. Obesity increases metabolic syndrome risk factors in school-aged children from an urban school in Mexico city. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:81–91.CrossRefPubMed

43.

Eskenazi B, Gladstone EA, Berkowitz GS, Drew CH, Faustman EM, Holland NT, et al. Methodologic and logistic issues in conducting longitudinal birth cohort studies: lessons learned from the Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113:1419–29.CrossRefPubMed

44.

Eskenazi B, Harley K, Bradman A, Weltzien E, Jewell NP, Barr DB, et al. Association of in utero organophosphate pesticide exposure and fetal growth and length of gestation in an agricultural population. Environ Health Perspect. 2004;112:1116–24.CrossRefPubMed

45.

INEGI. Conteo de poblacion y vivienda 2005 [Population and Housing Census 2005]. 2005; http://www.inegi.gob.mx/inegi/default.aspx?s=est&c=10202. Accessed July 1, 2008; 2008.

46.

National Center for Health Statistics. CDC growth charts, United States; 2005.

47.

Johnson-Taylor WL, Everhart JE. Modifiable environmental and behavioral determinants of overweight among children and adolescents: report of a workshop. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006;14:929–66.CrossRef

48.

WHO. Physical status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1995.

49.

Arcia E, Skinner M, Bailey D, Correa V. Models of acculturation and health behaviors among Latino immigrants to the US. Soc Sci Med. 2001;53:41–53.CrossRefPubMed

50.

Bickel G, Nord M, Price C, Hamilton W, Cook J. Guide to measuring household food security: United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation; 2000.

51.

Harrison GG, Stormer A, Herman DR, Winham DM. Development of a spanish-language version of the U.S. household food security survey module. J Nutr. 2003;133:1192–7.PubMed

52.

Falkingham J, Namazie C. Measuring health and poverty: a review of approaches to identifying the poor. London: Department for International Development Health Systems Resource Centre; 2002.

53.

Vyas S, Kumaranayake L. Constructing socio-economic status indices: how to use principal components analysis. Health Policy Plan. 2006;21:459–68.CrossRefPubMed

54.

Stata Statistical Software: Release 8.0 [computer program]. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation; 2003.

55.

Fernald LC, Neufeld LM. Overweight with concurrent stunting in very young children from rural Mexico: prevalence and associated factors. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007;61:623–32.PubMed

56.

Fernald LC. Socio-economic status and body mass index in low-income Mexican adults. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64:2030–42.CrossRefPubMed

57.

Singh GK, Kogan MD, Van Dyck PC, Siahpush M. Racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and behavioral determinants of childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States: analyzing independent and joint associations. Ann Epidemiol. 2008;18:682–95.CrossRefPubMed

58.

Dinour LM, Bergen D, Yeh MC. The food insecurity-obesity paradox: a review of the literature and the role food stamps may play. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:1952–61.CrossRefPubMed

59.

Alaimo K, Olson CM, Frongillo EA Jr. Low family income and food insufficiency in relation to overweight in US children: is there a paradox? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155:1161–7.PubMed

60.

Rosas LG, Harley K, Fernald LC, Guendelman S, Mejia F, Neufeld LM, et al. Dietary associations of household food insecurity among children of Mexican descent: results of a binational study. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109:2001–9.CrossRefPubMed

61.

Ortiz-Hernandez L, Acosta-Gutierrez MN, Nunez-Perez AE, Peralta-Fonseca N, Ruiz-Gomez Y. Food insecurity and obesity are positively associated in Mexico City school children. Rev Invest Clin. 2007;59:32–41.PubMed

62.

Casey PH, Simpson PM, Gossett JM, Bogle ML, Champagne CM, Connell C, et al. The association of child and household food insecurity with childhood overweight status. Pediatrics. 2006;118:e1406–13.CrossRefPubMed

63.

Dietz WH. Does hunger cause obesity? Pediatrics. 1995;95:766–7.PubMed

64.

Smith C, Richards R. Dietary intake, overweight status, and perceptions of food insecurity among homeless Minnesotan youth. Am J Hum Biol. 2008;20:550–63.CrossRefPubMed

65.

Jyoti DF, Frongillo EA, Jones SJ. Food insecurity affects school children’s academic performance, weight gain, and social skills. J Nutr. 2005;135:2831–9.PubMed

66.

Bronte-Tinkew J, Zaslow M, Capps R, Horowitz A, McNamara M. Food insecurity works through depression, parenting, and infant feeding to influence overweight and health in toddlers. J Nutr. 2007;137:2160–5.PubMed

67.

Matheson DM, Varady J, Varady A, Killen JD. Household food security and nutritional status of Hispanic children in the fifth grade. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:210–7.PubMed

68.

Isanaka S, Mora-Plazas M, Lopez-Arana S, Baylin A, Villamor E. Food insecurity is highly prevalent and predicts underweight but not overweight in adults and school children from Bogota, Colombia. J Nutr. 2007;137:2747–55.PubMed

69.

Whitaker RC, Orzol SM. Obesity among US urban preschool children: relationships to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:578–84.CrossRefPubMed

70.

Martin KS, Ferris AM. Food insecurity and gender are risk factors for obesity. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2007;39:31–6.CrossRefPubMed

71.

Gundersen C, Lohman BJ, Eisenmann JC, Garasky S, Stewart SD. Child-specific food insecurity and overweight are not associated in a sample of 10- to 15-year-old low-income youth. J Nutr. 2008;138:371–8.PubMed

72.

Gundersen C, Lohman BJ, Garasky S, Stewart S, Eisenmann J. Food security, maternal stressors, and overweight among low-income US children: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2002). Pediatrics. 2008;122:e529–40.CrossRefPubMed

73.

Danielzik S, Czerwinski-Mast M, Langnase K, Dilba B, Muller MJ. Parental overweight, socioeconomic status and high birth weight are the major determinants of overweight and obesity in 5–7 y-old children: baseline data of the Kiel Obesity Prevention Study (KOPS). Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004;28:1494–502.CrossRefPubMed

74.

Strauss RS, Knight J. Influence of the home environment on the development of obesity in children. Pediatrics. 1999;103:e85.CrossRefPubMed

75.

Franks PW, Ravussin E, Hanson RL, Harper IT, Allison DB, Knowler WC, et al. Habitual physical activity in children: the role of genes and the environment. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;82:901–8.PubMed

76.

Oken E, Taveras EM, Kleinman KP, Rich-Edwards JW, Gillman MW. Gestational weight gain and child adiposity at age 3 years. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007;196(322):e321–8.

77.

Abraido-Lanza AF, Armbrister AN, Florez KR, Aguirre AN. Toward a theory-driven model of acculturation in public health research. Am J Public Health. 2006;96:1342–6.CrossRefPubMed

Title: Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity among Children of Mexican Descent: Results of a Binational Study
Authors: Lisa G. Rosas
Sylvia Guendelman
Kim Harley
Lia C. H. Fernald
Lynnette Neufeld
Fabiola Mejia
Brenda Eskenazi
Publication date: 01-02-2011
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 1/2011
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9332-x

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity among Children of Mexican Descent: Results of a Binational Study

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2011

Neighborhood Changes in Concentrated Immigration and Late Stage Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Anthropometric and Lifestyle Associations of Bone Mass in Healthy Pre-Menopausal Mexican and Asian American Women

The Duffy Antigen/Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) and Prostate-Cancer Risk among Jamaican Men

Vitamin D deficiency in refugee children from conflict zones

Acculturation and Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors in Young Mexican and Mexican–American Women

Knowledge of Cardiovascular Health Among Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Immigrants to the US