Diet and obesity in Mexican Americans: Influences of acculturation and social support

Obesity and central obesity have disproportionately affected Mexican Americans. Acculturation and social support may be associated with obesity, as they may effect dietary and weight outcomes of individuals in the immigration and cultural adaptation process. Previous studies have shown the relationship between unhealthy dietary patterns and obesity outcomes; however, few have assessed overall diet quality and what aspects of diet impact obesity outcomes among Mexican Americans. It is also less clear how acculturation and social support jointly impact diet quality and weight status. Informed by the Social Ecological Model, this dissertation examined individual and interpersonal level determinants of obesity. Specifically, it assessed relationships between acculturation, social support, diet quality, and obesity outcomes using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and clinically-validated weight outcomes of 6847 Mexican American adults and 4868 Mexican American youth from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.;Findings showed a significant relationship between acculturation and obesity or central obesity, and a significant relationship between acculturation and diet quality. Results also revealed an association between the HEI total score and obesity or central obesity. Specifically, the HEI scores of sodium and whole grains appeared to mediate the association between acculturation and body mass index (BMI). Additionally, the study demonstrated gender and age variations of diet quality and weight status under the influences of acculturation and social support. Although BMI and waist circumferences (WC) increased among all Mexican Americans as they become more acculturated, it was observed that the association between diet quality and BMI or WC was more evident among men; it was also noted that a rise in BMI or WC is more apparent among men who reported "less or none" social support. Further, a linear increase of HEI total score with age was found, although the trend was heterogonous among HEI components.;The study found unhealthy influence of acculturation to diet quality and obesity outcomes, as well as an inverse association between diet quality and obesity outcomes. These results may help to design interventions that are culturally specific as well as age and gender appropriate for reducing obesity risk among Mexican Americans.