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Migration‐related influences on obesity among sub‐ S aharan A frican migrant adolescents in M elbourne, A ustralia
Author(s) -
Griffith Madelaine,
Mellor David,
Green Julie,
Renzaho Andre M.N.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
nutrition and dietetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1747-0080
pISSN - 1446-6368
DOI - 10.1111/1747-0080.12135
Subject(s) - acculturation , overweight , socioeconomic status , body mass index , demography , obesity , anthropometry , medicine , psychology , gerontology , developmental psychology , immigration , population , geography , endocrinology , sociology , archaeology
Aim The aim of the present study was to examine migration‐ and socioeconomic‐related influences on obesity among A frican migrant adolescents in M elbourne, A ustralia. Methods Anthropometric data were collected from 99 parents and 100 adolescent offspring who also completed questionnaires eliciting demographic, socioeconomic and migration data. Multiple linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between migration‐ and socioeconomic‐related factors and adolescent body mass index ( BMI ). Results Only gender and parental BMI were associated with adolescent BMI after adjusting for adolescent age, adolescent gender, religion, parental BMI , parental education level and annual income. Boys (β = −1.45; P < 0.05) had lower BMI than girls. Parental and adolescent BMI were positively associated (β = 0.11; P < 0.05). In examining migration‐related factors and adolescent BMI , after adjusting for gender and parental BMI , parental acculturation patterns and pre‐migration life environment were associated with adolescent BMI , explaining, respectively, 6.5 and 4.0% of the variance in BMI . An integrated parental acculturation pattern was negatively associated with adolescent BMI (β = −0.17; P < 0.05) while adolescents whose parents came from rural areas had a higher BMI (β = 1.48; P < 0.05) than those whose parents came from urban areas. Adolescent acculturation patterns and length of stay in A ustralia were non‐significantly associated with their BMI . Conclusions Gender, pre‐migration life environment and parental acculturation patterns seem to influence the prevalence of overweight and obesity among A frican migrant adolescents. Culturally competent obesity prevention programmes targeted towards A frican adolescents should consider these aspects in their design and delivery; however, further research is required to determine their relative contributions to A frican adolescent obesity in A ustralia.