title: Maternal BMI and country of birth as indicators of childhood obesity in children of Mexican origin.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Unit 1340, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1155 Pressler Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hernández-Valero
authors.forename: Anna V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: Michele R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.forename: Carol J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Etzel
authors.forename: Yumei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Carlos H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Bárcenas
authors.forename: Sara S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Strom
authors.forename: Margaret R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Spitz
authors.forename: Melissa L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bondy
mesh_terms: 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