RESUMO
PURPOSE: To distinguish the origins of higher weight status and determine when and why intra- and interracial/ethnic disparities emerge. DESIGN: The study used a longitudinal analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). SETTING: The study was conducted in the United States. SUBJECTS: Participants were children of non-Hispanic white mothers and children of U.S.- and foreign-born mothers of Mexican origin from a nationally representative sample of children born in the year 2001 (N ≈ 3700). MEASURES: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts determined sex- and age-specific weight status. Covariates were obtained from birth certificate records and parent interviews. ANALYSIS: Frequencies, growth curve trajectories, and ordinary least squares regression examined body mass index (BMI) and obesity across survey waves. RESULTS: Compared to their peers with non-Hispanic white mothers, children of Mexican-heritage mothers have higher average BMI and greater rates of obesity. The BMI of boys with Mexican-born mothers is higher relative to whites and children of U.S.-born Mexican mothers across early childhood, increasing sharply at about age 4.5 years. This divergence is driven by increases in the BMI of boys, as girls do not show the same growth. A number of measures, including descriptors of children's nutritional intake, lifestyle factors, and acculturation, do not explain the increased obesity rates among sons of Mexican mothers. CONCLUSION: Despite favorable perinatal health and weight, Mexican-American sons of foreign-born mothers show disadvantages in BMI that emerge close to the start of kindergarten.
Assuntos
Índice de Massa Corporal , Emigrantes e Imigrantes/psicologia , Emigrantes e Imigrantes/estatística & dados numéricos , Americanos Mexicanos/psicologia , Obesidade/prevenção & controle , Obesidade/psicologia , População Branca/psicologia , Peso Corporal , Pré-Escolar , Humanos , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Americanos Mexicanos/estatística & dados numéricos , Estados Unidos , População Branca/estatística & dados numéricosRESUMO
PURPOSE: We investigated associations of acculturation with various types of activity (moderate-vigorous leisure-time physical activity [LTPA], moderate-vigorous work- and transportation-related physical activity, and sedentary activity), and whether these activities mediated the acculturation-obesity association among Mexican-Americans. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2010. SUBJECTS: Mexican-American NHANES participants aged ≥20 years (n = 1902). MEASURES: Demographic characteristics, physical activity, sedentary behavior, acculturation, and body mass index. ANALYSIS: Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate associations of acculturation with categories of self-reported activity. Path analysis was used to test whether the activity measures mediated acculturation-obesity associations. RESULTS: In adjusted models, compared to U.S.-born Mexican-Americans, foreign-born Mexican-Americans living in the United States for less than 10 years were significantly less likely to be in the highest LTPA and sedentary activity categories, and more likely to be in the highest total and transportation activity categories. Foreign-born Mexican-Americans living in the United States for 10 years or more were significantly less likely to engage in high sedentary activity but more likely to engage in high transportation activity. Sedentary behavior was the strongest mediator of the acculturation-obesity association, accounting for 40.7% and 57.1% of the total effect of acculturation on obesity among foreign-born Mexican-Americans living in the United States for less than 10 years and for 10 years or more, respectively, compared to U.S.-born Mexican-Americans. CONCLUSION: Reducing sedentary behavior may lower the negative impact of acculturation on obesity.