Does Immigration Help or Harm Children’s Health? The Mayan Case

Smith, Patricia K.; Bogin, Barry; Varela‐Silva, Maria Inês; Orden, B; Loucky, James

doi:10.1111/1540-6237.00128

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Non-Maya children in these same countries are more often moving and playing while waiting to be measured (BB and V-S, fieldnotes). The synergistic effects of smaller stature, lower FFM, sedentary behavior, and a globalized diet may work to increase body fat, resulting in the nutritional dual-burden that plagues the Maya communities of Merida and elsewhere (e.g., Smith et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Globalization and children’s diets: The case of Maya of Mexico and Central America

Bogin

Azcorra

Wilson

et al. 2014

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Globalization is, in part, an economic force to bring about a closer integration of national economies. Globalization is also a biological, social and ideological process of change. Globalization results in powerful multinational corporations imposing their products on new markets. Food globalization brings about nutritional transitions, the most common being a shift from a locally-grown diet with minimally refined foods, to the modern diet of highly processed foods, high in saturated fat, animal products and sugar, and low in fiber. This paper will examine the influences of food globalization using the Maya of Mexico as a case study. The Maya people of Mexico are a poignant case. Maya health and culture has deteriorated as a result, with highly processed foods affecting physical growth and health of Maya children and their families. The case of the Maya is not isolated and we must come to terms with food globalization if we are to translate research into better child health and well-being.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Globalization and children’s diets: The case of Maya of Mexico and Central America

Bogin

Azcorra

Wilson

et al. 2014

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“…However, research with Maya immigrants to the United States finds that Maya-Americans ages 5-12 years old are 11.54 cm taller than their sedente counterparts (Bogin and Loucky, 1997;Bogin et al, 2002;Smith et al, 2002). The increase in stature occurred within one generation of people, negating the hypothesis that the extreme short stature of Maya populations is largely of genetic origin.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Influence of maternal stature, pregnancy age, and infant birth weight on growth during childhood in Yucatan, Mexico: A test of the intergenerational effects hypothesis

Varela‐Silva

Azcorra²,

Dickinson³

et al. 2009

American J Hum Biol

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109

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In developing nations, obesity has increased dramatically in the last decade, but a high prevalence of stunting still coexists. The intergenerational influences hypothesis (IIH) is one explanation for this. We test the IIH regarding variation in maternal stature, mother's age at pregnancy, and infant birth weight in relation to risk for overweight and stunting in 206 Maya children (4-6 years old) from Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico. The Maya children are compared with growth references (Frisancho 2008: Anthropometric Standards: An Interactive Nutritional Reference of Body Size and Body Composition for Children and Adults. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press. 335 pp) for height, weight, and body mass index (BMI). Almost 70% of the mothers are shorter than 150 cm. Mothers' height and child's birth weight predict overweight. Children with a mother shorter than 150 cm are less than half as likely (OR = 0.44) to be overweight compared to children whose mothers are equal to or taller than 150 cm. Children with birth weights below 3,000 g are only a third as likely to be overweight (OR = 0.28) than their peers within the range of normal birth weight (3,000-3,500 g). Sex of the child, mother's height, and birth weight predict stunting. Girls are only 40% as likely as boys to be stunted. Children with a mother below 150 cm are 3.6 times more likely of being stunted. Children with birth weights below 3000 g are over 3 times more likely to be stunted relative to children with birth weights within the normal range. Mother's age at pregnancy is not a predictor of overweight or stunting. Our findings conform the IIH and with similar studies of populations undergoing nutritional/epidemiological transitions from traditional to globalized lifestyles.

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“…Therefore, the analysis is confined to descriptive statistics. (Bogin & Loucky 1997;Bogin et al 2002;Smith et al 2002).…”

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confidence: 99%

As tall as my peers – similarity in body height between migrants and hosts

Bogin

Hermanussen²,

Scheffler

2018

anthranz

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Does Immigration Help or Harm Children’s Health? The Mayan Case

Cited by 26 publications

References 13 publications

Globalization and children’s diets: The case of Maya of Mexico and Central America

Globalization and children’s diets: The case of Maya of Mexico and Central America

Influence of maternal stature, pregnancy age, and infant birth weight on growth during childhood in Yucatan, Mexico: A test of the intergenerational effects hypothesis

As tall as my peers – similarity in body height between migrants and hosts

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