title: Immigrant enclaves and obesity in preschool-aged children in Los Angeles County.
abstract: While neighborhood environments are increasingly recognized as important contributors to obesity risk, less has been reported on the socio-cultural aspects of neighborhoods that influence obesity development. This is especially true among immigrants, who may lack the necessary language skills to navigate their new living environments. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that young children of immigrants would be at lower obesity risk if they lived in neighborhoods where neighbors share the same language and culture. Using 2000 Census data and 2003-2009 data from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children in Los Angeles County, we examined the relation between BMI z-scores in low-income children aged 2-5 years (N = 250,029) and the concentration of neighborhood residents who spoke the same language as the children's mothers. Using multi-level modeling and adjusting for child's gender and race/ethnicity, household education, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and year the child was examined, we found that percent of neighborhood residents who spoke the same language as the child's mother was negatively associated with BMI z-scores. This relation varied by child's race/ethnicity and mother's preferred language. The relation was linear and negative among children of English-speaking Hispanic mothers and Chinese-speaking mothers. However, for Hispanic children of Spanish-speaking mothers the relation was curvilinear, initially exhibiting a positive relation which reversed at higher neighborhood concentrations of Spanish-speaking residents. Our findings suggest that living in neighborhoods where residents share the same language may influence obesity-related behaviors (namely diet and physical activity) possibly through mechanisms involving social networks, support, and norms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. tabashir@ucla.edu
authors.forename: Tabashir Z
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: Nobari
authors.forename: May-Choo
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: M Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Chaparro
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Crespi
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koleilat
authors.forename: Shannon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Whaley
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055361:Multilevel Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: BMI; Children; Hispanics; Immigrant enclaves; Neighborhood; Obesity; USA; WIC