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The Impact of Acculturation Level on Weight Status and Weight Outcomes in Hispanic Children

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Abstract

Background

Previous studies revealed that higher levels of acculturation are related to obesity in Hispanic adults. Conflicting findings exist regarding this relationship in children, and little is known about the impact of acculturation on children’s success in pediatric weight management programs. The purposes of the study were to (1) examine the relationship between acculturation and overweight/obese weight status and (2) determine the impact of acculturation on the changes in weight status among overweight/obese children 12 and 24 months after having participated in a weight management intervention.

Methods

This is a secondary analysis of aggregated data from three randomized control trials that occurred between 2005 and 2009. Height, weight, and level of acculturation using the Child Short Scale for Hispanics (C-SASH) were measured in a sample of Hispanic children (n = 559). Logistic regression models were used to study phase 1 (n = 559) and phase 2 (n = 142), controlling for child and family characteristics.

Results

Children reporting high levels of acculturation had a 52 % lower odds of being overweight or obese. Among overweight/obese children who participated in the intervention, high levels of acculturation demonstrated greater reductions in standardized body mass index (zBMI) at 24 months.

Conclusions

The results of this study indicate a need to tailor weight management programs for Hispanic children who have lower levels of acculturation.

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Acknowledgments

This manuscript has been supported in part by a gift from the Kellogg Company and with federal funds from the USDA/ARS 6250-51000. We thank the staff of YES Preparatory Academy for their dedication to improving the lives of children. We also thank Sam Lyons for his contribution to this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics-Nutrition, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Ave, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Jennette P. Moreno & Ryan T. Cameron

  2. Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 6655 Travis Suite 320, Houston, TX, USA

    Elizabeth Vaughan & John P. Foreyt

  3. Department of Health & Human Performance and the Texas Obesity Research Center, University of Houston, 3855 Holman Street, Houston, TX, USA

    Daphne Hernandez & Craig A. Johnston

Authors
  1. Jennette P. Moreno
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  2. Elizabeth Vaughan
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  3. Daphne Hernandez
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  4. Ryan T. Cameron
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  5. John P. Foreyt
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  6. Craig A. Johnston
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennette P. Moreno.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Moreno, J.P., Vaughan, E., Hernandez, D. et al. The Impact of Acculturation Level on Weight Status and Weight Outcomes in Hispanic Children. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 3, 582–589 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0177-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0177-9

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