The size of Mexican-American migrant children

Dunn, Phoebe; Martorell, Reynaldo

doi:10.1093/ajcn/39.2.344

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Similar trends were reported by Dunn and Martorell (1984) for a small sample of migrant Mexican American youths (n=53) 10-16 years of age from Redwood City. Stature, weight, and weight for stature were at or below medians of NCHS reference data in 77, 60, and 39% of the migrant children, respectively.…”

supporting

confidence: 81%

“…These mean values are virtually identical to those reported by Dewey et al (1983) in a sample of migrant children less than 7 years of age-i.e., 54.3 and 44.5 for weight and stature, respectively. Mean percentile values for weight for stature were also similar in both studies-60.3 (Dunn and Martorell, 1984) and 61.2 (Dewey et al, 1983). These observations would appear to suggest that, on the average, more recent samples of Mexican American children are not as stunted in growth-i.e.-size attained, as those in several of the earlier surveys.…”

Section: Preschool Childrensupporting

confidence: 60%

“…The trends evident in the preceding surveys are also apparent in two recent brief reports. In a sample of 108 Mexican American migrant children under 10 years of age from Redwood City, California, Dunn and Martorell (1984) reported that about 22% had a weight for stature which exceeded the 90th percentile of the NCHS reference data, while only about 8% had a weight for stature below the tenth percentile. However, the average percentile values for attained weight and stature for age were 52.5 and 44.0, respectively.…”

Section: Preschool Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growth status of Mexican American children and youths: Historical trends and contemporary issues

Malina

Martorell

Mendoza

1986

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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The growth status of Mexican American children and youths is reviewed in a historical perspective that begins in the 1920s. The early studies were more concerned with growth status as an indicator of undernutrition and associated growth stunting, while the more recent studies have overnutrition and excess fatness as a primary focus. Evidence from recent studies suggests a relatively large number of short but heavy Mexican American children and youths. The growth status of Mexican American children and youths is then discussed in the context of socioeconomic variation; the relationship between weight for stature or the body mass index and body proportions; skinfolds, body composition, and fat patterning; secular trends; and recent national health surveys including the National Health and Nutrition Examination surveys and the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

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supporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Preschool Childrensupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Preschool Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growth status of Mexican American children and youths: Historical trends and contemporary issues

Malina

Martorell

Mendoza

1986

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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“…Dunn and Martorell (1984) also noted this in northern California migrant children and proposed that differences in the quality of life of younger vs. older cohorts might be the explanation. Growth deficits are most likely to occur in early childhood (i.e., age 0-3 years), and, if conditions have improved in recent years, a cross-sectional study would show better relative status for younger than for older children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Little is known about time trends elsewhere. Differences in anthropometric characteristics by region are also largely unknown; however, it appears that less overweight has been noted in northern California populations of migrant children than in other areas of the country (Dewey et al, 1983;Dunn and Martorell, 1984).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short and plump physique of Mexican‐American children

Martorell

Mendoza

Castillo

et al. 1987

American J Phys Anthropol

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Mexican-American children are shorter but relatively heavier than non-Hispanic whites and blacks. The objectives of this paper are to assess the extent to which this "short and plump" physique occurs in data collected in two national surveys (HANES I and II); to determine variations by age, sex, and socioeconomic status; and to investigate the anthropometric characteristics that may account for the overweight. Three groups, defined on the basis of reported ancestry and observed race, are studied: Mexican-Americans (MEXAME), non-Hispanic Whites, (EURAME), and blacks (BLACK). Short stature was clearly associated with the poverty index (PI) in all three groups. MEXAMEs with a PI greater than 1.6 were similar in stature to EURAMEs at the same income level at ages 1-11 years but not at 12-17 years. On the other hand, MEXAMEs were shorter than BLACKs at all ages and income levels. The body mass index (kg/cm2) and poverty were unrelated. With respect to the anthropometric characteristics examined that are related to the body mass index, MEXAMEs and EURAMEs were similar in sitting height as a proportion of total height, arm muscle and fat areas, and triceps skinfold but different in the following ways: MEXAMEs had narrower elbow but broader bitrochanteric breadths and larger chest circumferences and subscapular skinfolds. Greater upper body dimensions and fatfolds seem to best describe the physique of MEXAMEs. However, in multiple regressions, these anthropometric characteristics failed to account fully for the greater relative weight of MEXAMEs as compared to EURAMEs.

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