Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Children of Immigrant Origin in Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Social determinants of health are a major contributing factor to health inequalities and have important effects on the health of the population. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight/obesity in native and immigrant children aged 2–14 years residing in Spain, and to explore its relationship with socioeconomic factors, habits, and living and health conditions. This study used data from the 2017 Spanish National Health Survey, which collects health information on the population residing in Spain. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the risk of overweight/obesity controlling for the variables of interest. The final sample consisted of 2351 households. Children of immigrant origin had a significantly higher overall prevalence of overweight and/or obesity than natives, both in boys (40.5% vs. 29.5%) and girls (44.8% vs. 30.3%), and a higher adjusted risk of overweight/obesity (OR = 1.67). In addition, it has been observed that children of immigrant origin were at higher risk of consuming sugary soft drinks, exercising less, and using screens more. In conclusion, the increased risk of having different habits that may contribute to developing excess weight and of having overweight/obesity in children with a migrant background should guide public health policies and interventions, emphasizing those groups at higher risk and incorporating considerations of socioeconomic inequalities.

The Role of Physical Education in Preventing Unhealthy Lifestyles in Immigrant Adolescents

“…The most notorious are those more related to the dependent variable construct because of their conceptual proximity to both variables. Thus, the direct relationships between physical exercise (0.239) [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 16 ] and physical activity (0.205) [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] with sports stand out, the former being the most relevant of all the variables. This can be explained by the relationship between both manifestations of human motor activity, which results in a positive tendency among those who practise any ordered and systematised physical activity, entailing a step forward in the regulation and institutionalisation of human motor activity.…”

“…Conversely, the inverse relationships between the consumption of certain substances such as alcohol (−0.0301) [ 27 , 28 ], unhealthy food (−0.101) [ 14 , 30 ] and self-medicated drugs (−0.151) [ 31 ] and familial tobacco consumption (−0.162) [ 29 ] and sports lead us to consider the need for greater coordination between physical education and other subjects involved in the promotion of health because we consider that this task is not exclusive to physical education. In this sense, tutorial action in education centres is needed, and it is formalised through the tutorial action plan, understood as a framework paper that gathers the organisation and functioning of the conducted mentoring.…”

“…Caring about young immigrants’ integration, acculturation, health and well-being should be on public agents’ agendas. These topics have been addressed in the literature for adults [ 6 , 7 , 8 ], children [ 9 , 10 , 11 ], adolescents [ 12 , 13 ] and households [ 14 ]. However, this work focuses only on studies on young immigrants, analysing the underlying dimensions of a healthy lifestyle—exercise, physical activity and nutrition, among others—and their effects on practising sports.…”

“…However, this work focuses only on studies on young immigrants, analysing the underlying dimensions of a healthy lifestyle—exercise, physical activity and nutrition, among others—and their effects on practising sports. This differentiation with respect to local students is made because the literature has already found that immigrants adopt unhealthier habits when they move to the destination country [ 15 ] and that these effects also impact their children, who end up having worse health and habits than their local counterparts [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. In this sense, it is important to mention that although the majority of studies found differences between locals and immigrants at different stages, some have found few or no differences in physical [ 11 ], physiological or behavioural [ 19 , 20 ] activity.…”

“…Some studies suggest a negative influence of teenage alcohol [ 27 , 28 ] and tobacco [ 29 ] consumption on sports practice. We also expect to find a negative influence of the consumption of unhealthy foods on sports practice, following numerous studies that point to a direct relationship between physical exercise and balanced nutrition and how it is possible to influence other health variables such as nutrition acting on physical practice [ 14 , 30 ]. Finally, a few studies address the relationships between self-medicated drugs and physical activity.…”