Obesity has been a growing global health epidemic in recent years. The prevalence of obesity is 16% among immigrants in the United States (US) and 22% among US-born individuals. A 2004 study on obesity in US immigrants showed that living in the US for 15 years or more resulted in a body mass index (BMI) increase of 1.39 kg/m2. Furthermore, immigrants were found to be less likely than US-born individuals to discuss diet and exercise with clinicians. Immigrants may be vulnerable to increased obesity – particularly when entering the US at an early age. Sons of immigrants have higher levels of childhood obesity than American boys. Some experts contend that a key factor in the development of this pattern of obesity is more readily available drinks and snacks in the US as compared to the immigrant’s home country.
Medications and supplements used for weight loss have become more widely available in the past 2 decades. There has been a growing appeal among various ethnic groups to use these...
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Cohen, P. A., McCormick, D., Casey, C., et al. (2007). Imported compounded diet pill use among Brazilian women immigrants in the United States. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 11(3), 229–236.
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U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/
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Abbass, R. (2012). Appetite Suppressants. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_46
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