TY - JOUR
T1 - Obesity among U.S.- and Foreign-Born Blacks by Region of Birth
AU - Mehta, Neil K.
AU - Elo, Irma T.
AU - Ford, Nicole D.
AU - Siegel, Karen R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program in Health Disparities Research (Primary Investigator, NKM; 1L60MD006408-01). The funder had no role in the design or implementation of the study. ITE was supported by the Trio Research Program funded by the Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Security, National Institutes of Aging P30 AG012836-20 and the Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Development Population Research Infrastructure Program R24 HD-044964-11, all at the University of Pennsylvania. The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any funding agency or organization. NKM and ITE conceived of the analysis. NKM and KRS performed the statistical analysis. NKM wrote an initial draft of the manuscript. All authors edited and amended the initial manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
PY - 2015/8/1
Y1 - 2015/8/1
N2 - Introduction Large, recent migration streams from the non-Hispanic Caribbean islands and Africa have increased the share of U.S. blacks born outside of the U.S. Little is known about health patterns in these foreign-born populations. The purpose of this study is to compare obesity levels among self-identified U.S. blacks across birth regions and examine potential explanations for subgroup differences. Methods Data were from the 2000-2013 National Health Interview Surveys. Three birthplace subgroups were examined: individuals born in the U.S., Caribbean/South America, and Africa, aged 25-59 years. Data were analyzed in 2013-2014. Results Compared to U.S.-born participants, foreign-born participants had significantly lower obesity (BMI ≥30) odds. The AORs were 0.51 (Caribbean/South American-born, 95% CI=0.44, 0.58) and 0.41 (African-born, 95% CI=0.34, 0.50) with reference to U.S.-born individuals. Education, income, and cigarette smoking did not explain the favorable weight pattern of the foreign born. Among the foreign born, those residing in the U.S. for ≥15 years had 51% (95% CI=10%, 108%) higher obesity odds compared with those residing for <5 years. No statistically significant differences in obesity odds between those born in the Caribbean/South America and Africa were detected. Conclusion Foreign-born blacks generally had lower obesity levels compared to their U.S.-born counterparts, which was not explained by SES or smoking behaviors. Despite this advantage, obesity prevalence among foreign-born black women was around 30%, suggesting that obesity poses a significant health risk this population.
AB - Introduction Large, recent migration streams from the non-Hispanic Caribbean islands and Africa have increased the share of U.S. blacks born outside of the U.S. Little is known about health patterns in these foreign-born populations. The purpose of this study is to compare obesity levels among self-identified U.S. blacks across birth regions and examine potential explanations for subgroup differences. Methods Data were from the 2000-2013 National Health Interview Surveys. Three birthplace subgroups were examined: individuals born in the U.S., Caribbean/South America, and Africa, aged 25-59 years. Data were analyzed in 2013-2014. Results Compared to U.S.-born participants, foreign-born participants had significantly lower obesity (BMI ≥30) odds. The AORs were 0.51 (Caribbean/South American-born, 95% CI=0.44, 0.58) and 0.41 (African-born, 95% CI=0.34, 0.50) with reference to U.S.-born individuals. Education, income, and cigarette smoking did not explain the favorable weight pattern of the foreign born. Among the foreign born, those residing in the U.S. for ≥15 years had 51% (95% CI=10%, 108%) higher obesity odds compared with those residing for <5 years. No statistically significant differences in obesity odds between those born in the Caribbean/South America and Africa were detected. Conclusion Foreign-born blacks generally had lower obesity levels compared to their U.S.-born counterparts, which was not explained by SES or smoking behaviors. Despite this advantage, obesity prevalence among foreign-born black women was around 30%, suggesting that obesity poses a significant health risk this population.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.02.014
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.02.014
M3 - Article
C2 - 25896192
AN - SCOPUS:84937512976
VL - 49
SP - 269
EP - 273
JO - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
JF - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
SN - 0749-3797
IS - 2
ER -