Canaries in a coalmine: Immigration and overweight among Mexican-origin children in the US and Mexico.

ABSTRACT: The prevalence of overweight is higher for Hispanic children of immigrants than children of natives. This does not fit the pattern of the epidemiological paradox, the widely supported finding that immigrants tend to be healthier than their U.S.-born peers, and it suggests that exposure to the U.S. increases immigrant children's risk of overweight. This study's primary contribution is to better assess how exposure to the U.S. environment affects childhood overweight among a homogamous ethnic group, Mexican-Americans. We do so by using an innovative binational study design to compare the weight of Mexican-American children of immigrants, Mexican-American children of natives, and Mexican children in Mexico with different propensities of having immigrant parents. Cross-sectional data are deriv

SUBMITTER: Van Hook J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3259272 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature