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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Western Human Nutrition Research Center » Obesity and Metabolism Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #290998
Title: Ethnicity and acculturation: do they predict weight status in a longitudinal study among Asain, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White early adolescent females?

Author
item FIALKOWSKI, MARIE - Purdue University
item ETTIENNE-GITTENS, REYNOLETTE - Texas A&M University
item SHVETSOV, YURII - Cancer Research Center Of Hawaii
item RIVERA, REBECCA - Purdue University
item Van Loan, Marta
item SAVAIANO, DENNIS - Purdue University
item BOUSHEY, CAROL - Purdue University

Submitted to: Journal of Adolescent Health
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/30/2014
Publication Date: 10/3/2014
Publication URL: http://www.dovepress.com/ethnicity-and-acculturation-do-they-predict-weight-status-in-a-longitu-peer-reviewed-article-AHMT
Citation: Fialkowski, M.K., Ettienne-Gittens, R., Shvetsov, Y.B., Rivera, R.L., Van Loan, M.D., Savaiano, D.A., Boushey, C.J. 2014. Ethnicity and acculturation: do they predict weight status in a longitudinal study among Asain, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White early adolescent females? Adolescent Health. 5:1-7.

Interpretive Summary: In the past two decades the proportion of the population that is overweight or obese has increased dramatically with the largest increases seen in minority communities. The cause of the greater increase in overweight and obesity in minorities is unknown, but may be due to differences in acculturation, the degree that practices of the majority culture have been adopted by the minority community. We examined the relationships among overweight status, ethnic group, and acculturation among Asian, Hispanic and White adolescent girls from six different states ranging from Hawaii to Ohio. Body weight, anthropometric and acculturation data were collected on each girl over an 18-month period. Acculturation characteristics included generation in the US and language spoken at home. An examination of the proportion of overweight girls across the 3 ethnic groups showed that the Hispanic girls had the largest proportion of overweight compared to Asian and White girls. Similarly the probability of not becoming overweight during the 18-month study period was significantly related to ethnic group. Again, the proportion of Hispanic girls becoming overweight was higher than for either the Asian or White girls. These results leave many questions unanswered and warrant further exploration into issues associated with overweight especially among Hispanic girls.

Technical Abstract: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents has increased over the past decade. Prevalence rates are disparate among certain racial and ethnic groups. In this study, the relationship between overweight status (> 85th percentile according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts) and ethnic group, as well as acculturation (generation and language spoken in the home) was longitudinally assessed among Asian (n=160), Hispanic (n=217), and non-Hispanic (n=304) early adolescent girls. There were no significant associations between overweight status and acculturation, however, over an 18-month period, the proportion of Hispanic girls becoming overweight was greater than their Asian and non-Hispanic White counterparts. These results warrant further exploration into issues associated with overweight especially among Hispanic girls.