Abstract
In California’s central valley, childhood obesity rates are above the national average. The majority of families living in the rural, agricultural communities of this region are immigrant of Mexican heritage, and face numerous social and environmental challenges. Demographic and anthropometric data were collected from a population of Mexican-heritage children 3–8 years (N = 609) and families (N = 466) living in two central valley communities. Overall, 45 % of children and 82 % of mothers were classified as overweight or obese. Multivariable analyses indicated that mother’s BMI and acculturation level were positively associated with child BMI z-score. Most children classified as overweight or obese (92 % and 53 %, respectively) were perceived as having ‘normal’ weight by their mothers. Childhood obesity remains a major public health issue in Mexican-heritage, central valley communities. Our model indicates that mother’s BMI is predictor of child obesity, and parents tend to underestimate their child’s weight status. These findings highlight a need for family-targeted and culturally-tailored approaches to address relevant perceptions of obesity and risk factors in these communities.
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Abbreviations
- ARSMA-II:
-
Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- CDC:
-
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- IRB:
-
Institutional Review Board
- NSFS:
-
Niños Sanos, Familia Sana
- NHANES:
-
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- TEM:
-
Technical error of measurement
- US:
-
United States
- UCD:
-
University of California Davis
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the following individuals and agencies for their support and assistance: Maria Rangel, NSFS Site Coordinator, Ivan Garcia, NSFS Administrative Assistant, the advisory council and promotores in Firebaugh and San Joaquin, the Firebaugh Las Deltas Unified School District, the Golden Plains Unified School District, Elizabeth Bishay, and Letty Quintana.
Funding
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, under award number 2011-68001-30167.
Author Contributions
BS, AT, US and LW contributed to the conception and design of the study. BS, RGC and IET analyzed the data. BS, LM, RGC, SS, US, AA, IET, MMG, and LW were involved in collecting and interpreting data. All authors were involved in drafting, revising, and approving the article.
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Data is available upon personal contact and request from the corresponding author.
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The authors have no competing interests to declare.
Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate
This study was approved by the University of California Davis’ (UCD) Institutional Review Board (IRB). Parents or legal guardians of eligible children were consented following the informed consent requirements of UCD’s IRB.
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Sadeghi, B., Schaefer, S., Tseregounis, I.E. et al. Prevalence and Perception of Childhood Obesity in California’s Farmworker Communities. J Community Health 42, 377–384 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0266-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0266-7