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Are First-Generation Adolescents Less Likely to be Overweight? Results from a Survey of Boston Youth

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Abstract

The effect of years of residence in the US on the weight of adolescents is unclear. We examined the association between generation (i.e. 1st, 1.5, 2nd, and 3rd) and weight indicators among Boston adolescents. Data are from a sample of 1,420 9–12th grade public school students in Boston, Massachusetts. We used self-reported information to calculate generation and weight characteristics (i.e., body mass index (BMI), BMI z-score, overweight status), and ran multivariate analyses to estimate the association between generation and weight characteristics, adjusting for race/ethnicity, gender, age and school. In pooled multivariate models, 1.5 generation, second generation, and third generation youth had significantly higher mean BMI scores and mean BMI z-scores than first generation youth. Second (RR 1.87, 95 % CI 1.13–3.12) and third generation youth (RR 2.06, 95 % CI 1.21–3.50) were also significantly more likely to be overweight than first generation youth. In multivariate models stratified by sex, this pattern persisted for females only. There is a positive, linear trend in BMI by generation that differs by gender. Mechanisms underlying this association should be addressed.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this publication was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1L40HD066672-01) to Dr. Joanna Almeida. Dr. Dustin T. Duncan was supported by the Alonzo Smythe Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard School of Public Health. The Boston Youth Survey 2008 was funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U49-CE00740; David Hemenway, PI) to the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center (HYVPC), and in collaboration with the City of Boston. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC, the NIH, or the City of Boston.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Kendrin R. Sonneville

  2. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Dustin T. Duncan

  3. Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Renee M. Johnson

  4. Simmons School of Social Work, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Joanna Almeida

Authors
  1. Kendrin R. Sonneville
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  2. Dustin T. Duncan
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  3. Renee M. Johnson
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  4. Joanna Almeida
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Correspondence to Joanna Almeida.

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Sonneville, K.R., Duncan, D.T., Johnson, R.M. et al. Are First-Generation Adolescents Less Likely to be Overweight? Results from a Survey of Boston Youth. J Immigrant Minority Health 17, 605–609 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9937-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9937-y

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