Institute for the Study of Societal Issues

The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the United States over the past 30 years, especially among children of Mexican origin. Children of Mexican origin are an especially high-risk group because of their increased risk for morbidities associated with obesity in adulthood, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and uncontrolled hypertension compared to other racial and ethnic groups. This study takes a binational approach to understanding the health disparity in obesity among children of Mexican descent by examining the acculturation hypothesis as well as the factors associated with children’s weight status in Mexico. Two cross-sectional samples of 5-year-old children from California and Mexico were designed to compare predictors of obesity. The California sample included 287 children from a longitudinal birth cohort. Mexican children were 316 participants in a study designed to capture a sample similar to the California sample. Equivalent recruitment and data collection methodologies were used in both sites. I found significant differences between samples; California mothers reported that their children played outside fewer hours per day, drank more sweetened beverages per day, consumed fast food more frequently but ate more fresh fruits and vegetables than mothers in Mexico reported (p-value<0.05 for each). Using Center for Disease Control growth charts, I found that 53% of California children and 15% of Mexican children were classified as at-risk for overweight or overweight with an age- and sex-specific body mass index greater than the 85th percentile. I found no significant differences in children’s weight status according to acculturation level of the mother. I used logistic regression models to determine predictors of being at-risk for overweight or overweight in each sample. Maternal obesity was the only significant predictor in California (OR 2.5 95% CI 1.2, 5.3). The odds of being classified as at risk of overweight or overweight in Mexico were significantly positively associated with having an obese mother versus a normal-weight or overweight mother (OR 2.4, 95% CI: 1.3, 4.6), living in households in the upper socioeconomic status level compared to the lowest SES level (OR 2.9, 95% CI: 1.2, 6.8) and experiencing food insecurity with hunger in the last 12 months compared to food-secure children (OR 3.7, 95% CI: 1.4, 9.9). In the absence of support for the acculturation hypothesis, alternative hypotheses to explain the high prevalence of overweight among children of Mexican descent in the US may come from understanding the predictors of children’s weight status in sending communities in Mexico.