Barcenas Carlos H, Wilkinson Anna V, Strom Sara S, Cao Yumei, Saunders Katherine C, Mahabir Somdat, Hernández-Valero María A, Forman Michele R, Spitz Margaret R, Bondy Melissa L
Department of Internal Medicine of the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, and Boston VA Healthcare System, MA, USA.
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Apr;15(4):1043-52. doi: 10.1038/oby.2007.537.
To evaluate the association between birthplace (Mexico or U.S.) and obesity in men and women and to analyze the relationship between duration of U.S. residency and prevalence of obesity in Mexican immigrants.
We used cross-sectional data from 7503 adults of Mexican descent residing in Harris County, TX, to evaluate the relationships among BMI, birthplace, and years of residency in the U.S., controlling for demographic characteristics, physical activity level, and acculturation level.
U.S.-born adults had an increased risk (between 34% and 65%) of obesity compared with their Mexican-born counterparts. After controlling for recognized confounders and risk factors, this association was maintained in the highly acculturated only. Among highly acculturated obese U.S.-born men, 6% of the cases were attributable to the joint effect of birthplace and acculturation; in women, this proportion was 25%. Among Mexican-born women, there was an increasing trend in mean BMI with increasing duration of residency in the U.S.. Compared with immigrants who had lived in the U.S. for <5 years, Mexican-born women who had resided in the U.S. for >or=15 years had an adjusted BMI mean difference of 2.12 kg/m2 (95% confidence interval, 1.53-2.72).
Mexican-born men and women have a lower risk of obesity than their U.S.-born counterparts, but length of U.S. residency among immigrants, especially in women, is directly associated with risk of obesity. Development of culturally specific interventions to prevent obesity in recent immigrants may have an important public health effect in this population.
评估出生地（墨西哥或美国）与男性和女性肥胖之间的关联，并分析美国居住时长与墨西哥移民肥胖患病率之间的关系。
我们使用了得克萨斯州哈里斯县7503名墨西哥裔成年人的横断面数据，以评估体重指数、出生地和在美国居住年限之间的关系，同时控制人口统计学特征、身体活动水平和文化适应水平。
与出生在墨西哥的成年人相比，在美国出生的成年人肥胖风险增加（34%至65%）。在控制了公认的混杂因素和风险因素后，这种关联仅在高度文化适应的人群中存在。在高度文化适应的肥胖美国出生男性中，6%的病例可归因于出生地和文化适应的共同作用；在女性中，这一比例为25%。在出生于墨西哥的女性中，随着在美国居住时间的增加，平均体重指数呈上升趋势。与在美国居住<5年的移民相比，在美国居住≥15年的出生于墨西哥的女性调整后的体重指数平均差异为2.12 kg/m2（95%置信区间，1.53 - 2.72）。
出生在墨西哥的男性和女性肥胖风险低于在美国出生的同龄人，但移民在美国的居住时长，尤其是女性，与肥胖风险直接相关。制定针对特定文化的干预措施以预防新移民肥胖，可能对该人群产生重要的公共卫生影响。
