Acculturation and weight change in Asian-American children: Evidence from the ECLS-K:2011

Abstract

Despite relatively low rates of overweight and obesity among Asian-American children, disparities exist based on acculturation, socioeconomic status, and Asian ethnicity. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between acculturation and weight change in Asian-American children. Secondary aims were to compare changes by Asian ethnic group and acculturation x socioeconomic status. Participants included 1200 Asian-American children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11, a longitudinal study of U.S. children attending kindergarten in 2010-2011. Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to predict weight change based on body mass indices in kindergarten (spring 2011) and second grade (spring 2013): consistently healthy weight, consistently overweight/obese, healthy weight change, and unhealthy weight change. Models included demographic, household, socioeconomic status, and acculturation measures, specifically mother's English proficiency and percentage of life spent in the U.S. Overall, 72.3% of children were at healthy weights in kindergarten and second grade. Of all Asian ethnic groups, Filipino children had the highest rate of being consistently overweight/obese (24.8%) and the lowest rate of being consistently healthy weight (62.9%). In addition, mother's English proficiency predicted unhealthy weight change (OR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.75-0.92) and healthy weight change (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.65-0.86), relative to "consistently healthy weight." English proficiency also predicted being consistently overweight/obese for children with less educated mothers. Findings enhance our understanding of obesity disparities within Asian Americans and highlight the need to disaggregate the population. Obesity interventions are needed for Filipino children and families with low socioeconomic status but high English proficiency.

Obesity and Obesogenic Behaviors in Asian American Children with Immigrant and US-Born Mothers

“…Maternal time in the US was an ordinal variable with five levels: < 5 years, 5-14 years, 15-24 years, ≥ 25 years, and US-born. US nativity and increasing time in the US served as proxies for acculturation, similar to larger studies in Asian American populations [5,6,[33][34][35][36] in which acculturation questionnaires were not administered.…”

“…The small body of literature exploring the relationship between maternal acculturation and BMI in Asian American children is mixed. Maternal acculturation, as measured by English proficiency, has been shown to be a risk factor for consistent overweight/obesity in early elementary school children with less educated mothers but a protective factor in those with more educated mothers [5]. Another study found that Asian American preschool-age children with immigrant mothers had a lower obesity risk than those with US-born mothers [7].…”

“…While the prevalence of overweight/obesity is relatively low in this population compared to other racial/ethnic groups [1][2][3], there is a need to better understand risk factors for elevated body mass index (BMI) in Asian American children for several reasons. First, some Asian American ethnic subgroups have a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity than others [4][5][6][7]. One study found that Filipino and Vietnamese American children are more likely to have elevated BMI than their white peers [7].…”

“…One factor that may affect child BMI is maternal acculturation. As immigrants settle in the US, they may adopt Western obesogenic behaviors through acculturation, a complex process through which individuals from one culture adopt the practices of another [5,11]. Given the role of maternal influence on dietary [12][13][14][15] and sedentary behaviors [16][17][18], mothers may pass obesogenic habits onto their children and increase their obesity risk.…”

Explicating Acculturation Strategies among Asian American Youth: Subtypes and Correlates across Filipino and Korean Americans

“…Among Asian American adolescents, acculturative variables have been associated with a variety of physical, psychological, and social outcomes including school performance (Fuligni, Witkow, & Garcia Coll, 2005), suicide attempts (Wong & Maffini, 2011), psychological functioning (Kim & Omizo, 2010), intergenerational conflict and depression (Ying & Han, 2007), smoking attitudes and behaviors (Weiss & Garbanati, 2004), binge drinking and alcohol use (Hahm, Lahiff, & Guterman, 2004), sexual behavior (Tong, 2013), and weight change (Diep, Baranowski, & Kimbro, 2017). With notable exceptions, the literature suggests that heritage retention, such as ethnic identity and heritage language competence, is associated with positive development among Asian American adolescents.…”