Loss of a Healthy Weight Advantage Among Mexican-American Children

Loss of a Healthy Weight Advantage Among Foreign-born Children of Mexican Origin: Analysis of Overweight/Obesity Trends From 1988-1994 to 2005-2014

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03261882

Enrollment

11987

Registered

2017-08-25

Start date

2016-06-01

Completion date

2017-07-30

Last updated

2017-08-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Overweight and Obesity

Brief summary

Although research indicates foreign-born Mexican-Americans possess a healthy weight advantage relative to U.S.-born Mexican-Americans, patterns are less clear for children and may be changing over time. The objective of this study was to examine whether the relationship between nativity and overweight/obesity has changed over time among Mexican-American children and to investigate the implications of this pattern on overweight/obesity disparities relative to non-Hispanic Whites. Using cross-sectional data from Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic white children ages 4-17 years participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (1988-1994 (N=4,718) and 2005-2014 (N=7,269), the investigators used log-binomial regression to calculate prevalence ratios (PR) of overweight/obesity by nativity status adjusting for age, sex, householder marital status, householder education, survey period and a nativity by survey period interaction. The investigators also tested another covariate-adjusted model with a 3-level ethnicity-nativity variable that included Whites and an ethnicity-nativity by survey period interaction.

Interventions

OTHERNativity

Mexican-American children were subdivided into two groups based on their country of birth. Mexican-American children who were not born in the U.S. were considered foreign-born and those born in the U.S. were U.S.-born.

Study design

Observational model

OTHER

Time perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

4 Years to 17 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Mexican-Americans and white children who attended the clinical examination in NHANES III and the continuous NHANES

Exclusion criteria

* Reported being pregnant

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
overweight/obesity	1988-1994 and 2005-2014	Body mass index (BMI) was calculated by dividing weight (kg) by height2 (m2), and overweight/obesity was defined as a BMI at or above the age- and sex-specific 85th percentile based on the CDC's BMI-for-age growth charts (yes/no).

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026