• Future Students
• Current Students
• Alumni
• Faculty and Staff

• Arnold School Home
• Welcome
• Academic Departments
• Administrative Departments
• Office of Research
• Centers & Other Programs
• Communications
• News Archives
• Online Giving
• Contact Us

Adapting to U.S. lifestyles poses health risks

February 6, 2012

Adapting to the cultural and lifestyle trends of a new country may seem interesting and inviting.

But Mexican-American youth from second- and third-generation families are more likely to be obese than those who were not born in the United States.

The findings, published in the February issue of the Journal of Nutrition, are from a study by researchers at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health.

"Few studies have examined immigration status and the child's acculturation on obesity," said Dr. Jihong Liu, the lead author of the paper. "Most are focused on adults, who are at increased risk for obesity with each generation.

"Mexican-American children are disproportionately affected by obesity. This has serious public health consequences," she said. "Because Mexican Americans are the fastest growing segment of the population, they are a very important population to study."

Second-generation Mexican Americans were 2.5 times as likely to be obese as their first-generation peers; third-generation Mexican Americans were two times more likely to be obese.

Researchers looked at data from nearly 2,300 Mexican-American youth between the ages of 12 and 19 who participated in the 1999 – 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The survey measures height and weight of participants, as well as factors that gauge acculturation, including nativity for parents and the child and a child's language preference, such as reading, thinking and speaking in a particular language at home, with family members or friends.

The study found that 63 percent of the participants spoke some English; 21.5 percent spoke only English, and 16 percent spoke little English. Nearly 73 percent of the youth were second- or third- generation Mexican American.

According to the study, adolescents from second and third generations have diets high in saturated fat and sodium and consume high levels of sweetened beverages. Their consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and beans was lower than first-generation Mexican-American youth.

"Our findings suggest that Mexican-American adolescents face challenges in terms of poorer diet and excessive weight gain associated with their immigration experience," said Liu, a researcher in the Arnold School's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. "This verified what we expected: The greater the acculturation a young person has experienced, the less healthy their diet."

The implication of the study is that young people who are less likely to be acculturated need help and support to maintain a healthy diet, she said.

"Our findings also suggest that policy and programmatic actions should be in place to assist immigrants to protect traditional dietary practices such as a high intake of fruit and vegetables and eating bread while they assimilate to the American culture and society," Liu said. "Future studies should continue to examine the barriers that Mexican-American adolescents encounter in maintaining their native diet and identify strategies to address those barriers."

Arnold School researchers Dr. Ed Frongillo, Dr. Jan Probst, and Yong Chu, a doctoral candidate, contributed to the study, which was supported by the Maternal and Child Health Research Program of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.