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Immigration and obesity among lower income blacks.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bennett, GG; Wolin, KY; Askew, S; Fletcher, R; Emmons, KM
Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
June 2007

Our objective was to examine the associations of nativity, immigrant generation, and language acculturation with obesity among lower income black adult men and women.Data from 551 black adult men and women were collected from participants in the Healthy Directions-Health Centers Study. Race/ethnicity and nativity were self-reported. Language acculturation was defined using participants' first language, preferred reading language, and language spoken at home. Mixed model logistic regression models were estimated to account for within-health center clustering.Foreign-born blacks had a lower obesity risk, compared with all U.S.-born participants, in multivariable analyses [odds ratio (OR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.38, 0.84]. Among U.S.-born participants, those with foreign-born parents were significantly less likely to be obese than individuals with U.S.-born parents (OR = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.37, 0.80). Low-moderate language acculturation also decreased the odds of being obese (OR = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.23, 0.88).Our findings suggest a protective effect of foreign-born status and low-moderate language acculturation on obesity risk among lower income black immigrants. These data highlight the importance of more frequently examining nativity in obesity-related research conducted among blacks.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)

DOI

EISSN

1930-739X

ISSN

1930-7381

Publication Date

June 2007

Volume

15

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1391 / 1394

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Obesity
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Income
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Endocrinology & Metabolism
  • Emigration and Immigration
 

Citation

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Bennett, G. G., Wolin, K. Y., Askew, S., Fletcher, R., & Emmons, K. M. (2007). Immigration and obesity among lower income blacks. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 15(6), 1391–1394. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2007.166
Bennett, Gary G., Kathleen Y. Wolin, Sandy Askew, Robert Fletcher, and Karen M. Emmons. “Immigration and obesity among lower income blacks.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 15, no. 6 (June 2007): 1391–94. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2007.166.
Bennett GG, Wolin KY, Askew S, Fletcher R, Emmons KM. Immigration and obesity among lower income blacks. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md). 2007 Jun;15(6):1391–4.
Bennett, Gary G., et al. “Immigration and obesity among lower income blacks.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), vol. 15, no. 6, June 2007, pp. 1391–94. Epmc, doi:10.1038/oby.2007.166.
Bennett GG, Wolin KY, Askew S, Fletcher R, Emmons KM. Immigration and obesity among lower income blacks. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md). 2007 Jun;15(6):1391–1394.
Journal cover image

Published In

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)

DOI

EISSN

1930-739X

ISSN

1930-7381

Publication Date

June 2007

Volume

15

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1391 / 1394

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Obesity
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Income
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Endocrinology & Metabolism
  • Emigration and Immigration