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The Influence of Immigrant Status and Acculturation on the Development of Overweight in Latino Families: A Qualitative Study

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Abstract

Exposure to obesogenic environments in the U.S. may foster development of overweight in immigrants with greater acculturation. Few studies document mechanisms of the acculturation process from immigrants’ own perspectives or describe implications on the children of immigrants. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with immigrant Latina mothers (N = 51) examining mothers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices related to early child feeding and weight. Focus group participants completing the Marin Acculturation Scale more closely identified with Latino culture, although the mean score (2.04, SD = 0.59) was close to “bicultural”. Analysis revealed seven themes when mothers compared lifestyles between their native countries and the U.S., related to changes in (1) diet, perceived food quality and availability, (2) food and eating practices, (3) breastfeeding practices, (4) beliefs about food, child feeding and weight status, (5) weight status of mothers and children, (6) physical activity and sedentary lifestyles, and (7) social isolation and support.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the staff of the WIC Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) for their support of this study. In particular, we would like to thank the Director of Nutrition Services for the Massachusetts WIC Program, Jan Kallio, MS, RD, LDN and WIC Nutritionist, Karen Deehy, MS, RD, for their personal support in the implementation of this research. We are especially thankful to the mothers who have agreed to participate in this study, who were recruited from a 3-year, community-based clinical trial, “Reducing Disease Risk in Low-Income, Postpartum Women” funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Development (R01 HD37368) for which Karen Peterson, ScD, RD, is Principal Investigator. This study is supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, R03 CA108347-01, for which Ana Lindsay, DDS, MPH, DrPH, is Principal Investigator. This research is also made possible with the support of the National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant #0524960 awarded to Katarina Mucha Sussner and Peter Ellison. We would like to acknowledge the advice and support provided throughout this research by Peter Ellison and Cheryl Knott, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncological Sciences, Cancer Prevention and Control, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1425 Madison Avenue, Box 1130, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Katarina M. Sussner

  2. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Ana C. Lindsay

  3. Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Mary L. Greaney

  4. Departments of Nutrition and of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Karen E. Peterson

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  1. Katarina M. Sussner
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  4. Karen E. Peterson
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Correspondence to Katarina M. Sussner.

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Sussner, K.M., Lindsay, A.C., Greaney, M.L. et al. The Influence of Immigrant Status and Acculturation on the Development of Overweight in Latino Families: A Qualitative Study. J Immigrant Minority Health 10, 497–505 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-008-9137-3

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