Maternal BMI and country of birth as indicators of childhood obesity in children of Mexican origin.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between maternal and childhood BMI at baseline in a group of 5- to 18-year-old children and their mothers, all of whom were of Mexican origin, low socioeconomic status, and enrolled in a cohort study in Houston, TX.


METHODS
Using data from 438 mother-child dyads residing in the same household, we completed logistic regression analyses to determine maternal factors associated with the child being overweight or at-risk-for-overweight, after adjusting for the child's gender, age, and level of physical activity and other maternal confounders.


RESULTS
Almost one-half of the boys and girls (47% and 44%, respectively) were either overweight or at-risk-for-overweight. Obese mothers were twice as likely to have an overweight and/or at-risk-for-overweight child compared with normal-weight mothers. Women born in the U.S. were twice as likely to have an overweight and/or at-risk-for-overweight child compared with women born in Mexico. In addition, women with less than a high school education were twice as likely to have an overweight child compared with their more educated peers.


CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of overweight or at-risk-for-overweight among Mexican-origin children of low socioeconomic status suggests a continued need to develop and implement culturally sensitive preventive interventions for this minority population. Our data also suggest a need to tailor such interventions particularly for children of obese mothers and those born in the U.S.
Hernández-Valero
María A
MA
Department of Epidemiology, Unit 1340, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1155 Pressler Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Wilkinson
Anna V
AV
Forman
Michele R
MR
Etzel
Carol J
CJ
Cao
Yumei
Y
Bárcenas
Carlos H
CH
Strom
Sara S
SS
Spitz
Margaret R
MR
Bondy
Melissa L
ML
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008800:Mexico; D009035:Mothers; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology