Obesity Among Mexican American Women: A binational US-Mexico Perspective

Previous studies have shown that in the United States (US), Mexican immigrant status is associated with decreased obesity whereas increased acculturation is linked to increased body size. Yet this evidence has been hampered by the lack of a comparison group of the source population in Mexico. In this session we discuss findings from our study of two linked nationally representative datasets of women of Mexican origin residing in the US and in Mexico. Methods: We draw on actual and perceived body weight data from 855 adult women ages 20-59 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (waves 2001-2006) and 9,527 women of the same age who were part of Mexico's National Health and Nutrition Survey (2006). Specific results: In multivariate regression analyses, after adjusting for age and education, BMI among Mexican immigrant women was lower compared to the BMI of women living in Mexico and US-born Mexican Americans. However, Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans were significantly more likely to have a BMI≥30 compared to women in Mexico. In analyses restricted to overweight and obese women, Mexican immigrants were less likely to underestimate their body size compared to their counterparts in Mexico, but significantly more likely to do so compared to Mexican Americans. Discussion: Mexico has undergone enormous increases in obesity in recent years, but women still tend to inaccurately perceive their weight as “normal”. These conditions may help to explain why immigrant status no longer confers protection against obesity among women of Mexican origin.