title: Birthplace, language use, and body size among Mexican American women and men: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2006.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mexican immigrant status has been associated with decreased obesity, but this pattern may be changing. We draw from 2001-2006 NHANES data on Mexican Americans to examine whether body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference vary by country of birth and among the U.S.-born by language.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among women, U.S.-born Spanish speakers had the highest mean BMI, followed by immigrant women, while U.S.-born English speakers had the lowest mean BMI. Immigrant men had a lower mean BMI than U.S.-born men. These patterns were similar for waist circumference and persisted after adjusting for socioeconomic status (SES) and other covariates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Immigrant women do not appear to be protected against a large body size, compared with immigrant men. Among the U.S.-born, women who retain Spanish are at higher risk for larger body size than exclusive English speakers. Initiatives targeting obesity should address differentials in body size patterns among immigrant and U.S.-born Mexican American men and women.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. sylviag@berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guendelman
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brindis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000208:ethnology*; D055815:Young Adult