Big Boys and Little Girls: Gender, Acculturation, and Weight among Young Children of Immigrants

Autor/inn/en	Van Hook, Jennifer; Baker, Elizabeth
Titel	Big Boys and Little Girls: Gender, Acculturation, and Weight among Young Children of Immigrants
Quelle	In: Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51 (2010) 2, S.200-214 (15 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-1465
DOI	10.1177/0022146510372347
Schlagwörter	Obesity; Females; Acculturation; Young Children; Social Isolation; Gender Differences; Immigrants; Child Health; Risk; Longitudinal Studies; Language Proficiency; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Body Weight; Parent Background; Socialization + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Adipositas; Weibliches Geschlecht; Akkulturation; Frühe Kindheit; Soziale Isolation; Geschlechterkonflikt; Immigrant; Immigrantin; Immigranten; Risiko; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Körpergewicht; Elternhaus; Socialisation; Sozialisation
Abstract	Previous research fails to find a consistent association between obesity and acculturation for children. We theorize that social isolation shelters children of immigrants from the U.S. "obesiogenic" environment, but this protective effect is offset by immigrant parents' limited capacity to identify and manage this health risk in the United States. We further theorize that these factors affect boys more than girls. We use data from over 20,000 children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort and find that boys whose parents were raised outside the United States weighed more and gained weight faster than any other group. However, within this group, sons of low English-proficient parents gained weight more slowly than sons of English-proficient parents. The results thus suggest that two dimensions of low acculturation--foreign place of socialization and social isolation--affect children's weight gain in opposite directions and are more important for boys than girls. (Contains 3 tables, 4 figures and 1 note.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10