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Is There a Healthy Foreign Born Effect for Childhood Obesity in the United States?

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Abstract

Objective of the study was to explore factors associated with early childhood obesity and assess whether having a foreign born mother is protective against childhood obesity. Data sources include 9 months and 4 years parent interviews and direct assessments of possessive children’s weight and height (4 years) or length (9 months) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. Subjects were children with anthropometric measures who lived with their mothers (n = 9,700 at 9 months and 8,200 at 4 years). Overweight is defined as a weight-for-length ratio at or above the 95th percentile at 9 months; obesity is defined as a body mass index at or above the 95th percentile at 4 years. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 15.4% at 9 months and 18.0% at 4 years. After adjustment for potential confounders, having a foreign-born mother was not associated with the odds of overweight at 9 months or 4 years. At 9 months and 4 years, low birth weight, pre-pregnancy weight and weight gain during pregnancy were protective of overweight. In addition to these factors, at 4 years, excessive weight gain in the first 9 months was the strongest predictors for obesity. Living in a safe neighborhood and ever having breastfed were protective against obesity. Having a foreign born mother is not protective of early childhood obesity. A focus on health of women prior to conception and on women’s and infants’ health in the perinatal period are key to addressing childhood obesity.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grant R40 MC 08951 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, E4636, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Cynthia S. Minkovitz

  2. Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Nan Li

  3. Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, E4153, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Donna Strobino

  4. Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, E4642, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Saifuddin Ahmed

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  1. Nan Li
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Correspondence to Cynthia S. Minkovitz.

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Li, N., Strobino, D., Ahmed, S. et al. Is There a Healthy Foreign Born Effect for Childhood Obesity in the United States?. Matern Child Health J 15, 310–323 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0588-5

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