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The shape of things to come? Obesity prevalence among foreign-born vs. US-born Mexican youth in California

Author(s): Buttenheim, Alison M; Pebley, Anne R; Hsih, Katie; Chung, Chang Y; Goldman, Noreen

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Abstract: Obesity among the Mexican-origin adult population in the US has been associated with longer stays in the US and with being US- vs. Mexican-born, two proxies for acculturation. This pattern is less clear for Mexican-origin children and young adults: recent evidence suggests that it may be reversed, with foreign-born Mexican youth in the US at higher risk of obesity than their US-born Mexican–American counterparts. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hypothesis that the immigrant advantage in obesity prevalence for Mexican-origin populations in the US does not hold for children and young adults. We use data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (N = 1143) and the California Health Interview Survey (N = 25,487) for respondents ages 4–24 to calculate the odds of overweight/obesity by ethnicity and nativity. We find support for the hypothesis that overweight/obesity prevalence is not significantly lower for first-generation compared to second- and third-generation Mexican-origin youth. Significantly higher obesity prevalence among the first generation was observed for young adult males (ages 18–24) and adolescent females (ages 12–17). The previously-observed protective effect against obesity risk among recent adult immigrants does not hold for Mexican-origin youth.
Publication Date: Feb-2013
Citation: Buttenheim, Alison M, Pebley, Anne R, Hsih, Katie, Chung, Chang Y, Goldman, Noreen. "The shape of things to come? Obesity prevalence among foreign-born vs. US-born Mexican youth in California" Social Science & Medicine, 78, 1 - 8, doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.10.023
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.10.023
ISSN: 0277-9536
Pages: 1 - 8
Type of Material: Journal Article
Journal/Proceeding Title: Social Science & Medicine
Version: This is the author’s final manuscript. All rights reserved to author(s).



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