title: Obesity-related behaviors of US- and non-US-born parents and children in low-income households.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine differences in obesity-related behaviors by parental US-born status among low-income, minority families participating in Healthy Habits, Happy Homes, an intervention trial to improve household routines for childhood obesity prevention. Evidence suggests lower obesity risk among adult immigrants, but research is inconclusive regarding the influence of having a non-US-born parent on childhood obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We sampled 57 US-born and 64 non-US-born families of children aged 2 to 5.9 years living in the Boston area. At baseline, parents reported their own screen time, physical activity, diet, and sleep as well as their children's behaviors. We used linear and logistic regression to examine the association of parental US-born status with obesity-related behaviors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean (SD) body mass index z score was 0.94 (1.16), and it did not differ between the groups. After adjusting for parental education and child race/ethnicity, children of non-US-born (vs US-born) parents had later bedtimes (0.81 hours later; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37-1.25) and wake-up times (0.56 hours later; 95% CI, 0.16-0.95) and engaged in less active play (0.15 fewer hr/d; 95% CI, -0.28 to -0.01). Non-US-born (vs US-born) parents had less screen exposure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this cross-section of low-income, urban families, having a parent born outside the United States was associated with a profile of risk and protective behavior; adjustment for education and race/ethnicity removed the protective associations of parental nativity with child behavior. Obesity-related differences in behaviors and home environments should be considered when designing interventions targeting low-income communities with a high proportion of non-US-born participants.
authors.affiliation: *Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA; †Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA; ‡Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; §Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA; ‖Division of General Pediatrics, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Cespedes
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Jess
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.forename: Clement J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Bottino
authors.forename: Marie Evans
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Elsie M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Taveras
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001900:Boston / Q000208:ethnology; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000208:ethnology*; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012306:Risk; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American