Overweight and obesity among foreign-born and U.S.-born Hispanics

Abstract

In this study, data from the New Immigrant Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey are combined to examine patterns of overweight and obesity among U.S.-born and foreign-born Hispanics. Results indicate that, after using height and weight measures adjusted for self-reporting bias, foreign-born Hispanic men and women have substantially lower likelihoods of being overweight and obese than the U.S.-born. However, both likelihoods increase as years in the U.S. accumulate for the foreign-born. Controls for smoking behavior, physical activity, and the degree of dietary change do not reduce the strength of the positive relationship between years in the U.S. and overweight/obesity.