Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Sep;59(3):391-410.
doi: 10.1177/0022146518788869. Epub 2018 Jul 24.

Healthy Eating among Mexican Immigrants: Migration in Childhood and Time in the United States

Jennifer Van Hook  1 , Susana Quirós  1 , Molly Dondero  2 , Claire E Altman  3
Affiliations

Healthy Eating among Mexican Immigrants: Migration in Childhood and Time in the United States

Jennifer Van Hook et al. J Health Soc Behav. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Past research on immigrant health frequently finds that the duration of time lived in the United States is associated with the erosion of immigrants' health advantages. However, the timing of U.S. migration during the life course is rarely explored. We draw from developmental and sociological perspectives to theorize how migration during childhood may be related to healthy eating among adult immigrants from Mexico. We test these ideas with a mechanism-based age-period-cohort model to disentangle age, age at arrival, and duration of residence. Results show that immigrants who arrived during preschool ages (2-5 years) and school ages (6-11 years) have less healthy diets than adult arrivals (25+ years). After accounting for age at arrival, duration of residence is positively related to healthy eating. Overall, the findings highlight the need to focus more research and policy interventions on child immigrants, who may be particularly susceptible to adopting unhealthy American behaviors during sensitive periods of childhood.

Keywords: age at arrival; diet; duration of residence; immigrant health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mechanism-based APC Model of Duration of U.S. Residence, Age at Arrival and Healthy Eating among Mexican-born Adults
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abraído-Lanza Ana F., Chao Maria T., and Flórez Karen R.. 2005. “Do Healthy Behaviors Decline with Greater Acculturation?: Implications for the Latino Mortality Paradox.” Social Science & Medicine 61(6):1243–55. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Akresh Ilana. 2007. “Dietary Assimilation and Health among Hispanic Immigrants to the United States.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 48(4):404–17. - PubMed
    1. Antecol Heather, and Bedard Kelly. 2006. “Unhealthy assimilation: why do immigrants converge to American health status levels?.” Demography 43(2): 337–360. - PubMed
    1. Ayala Guadalupe X., Baquero Barbara, and Klinger Sylvia. 2008. “A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Acculturation and Diet among Latinos in the United States: Implications for Future Research.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 108(8):1330–44. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Batis C, Hernandez-Barrera L, Barquera S, Rivera JA, and Popkin BM. 2011. “Food Acculturation Drives Dietary Differences among Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Non-Hispanic Whites.” The Journal of nutrition 141(10):1–9. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources