Mexican immigrants’ diets raise risks of obesity, heart disease
| September 01, 2011 | |
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Despite the abundance of Hispanic food options, Mexicans who migrate to the United States choose to adopt most of the “American diet,” which may put their health at risk, a new study shows. Some of the changes are good. Many Mexicans in the U.S. consume more fruits and vegetables, low-fat meat and fish, high-fiber bread and low-fat milk, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Overall, however, as Mexicans in the U.S. eat more saturated fat, sugar, desserts and salty snacks, pizza and french fries, their eating habits are less healthy than when they were in Mexico. That could lead to higher rates of obesity and overweight, heart disease and certain cancers compared to people in Mexico, nutrition researchers cautioned.
Two other factors make the findings notable. Traditionally, overall mortality rates and death rates from cardiovascular disease and cancer are lower among Hispanic immigrants than non-Hispanic whites, but diet changes are increasing the immigrants’ risks. In addition, the rising proportion of Hispanics in the U.S. population (expected to grow from 1-in-6 in 2010 to 1-in-4 by 2050) means more people could face diet-influenced health issues.
The study was published online Sept. 1 in the Journal of Nutrition.
Carolina Batis
“Mexican immigrants – those born in Mexico – stick with the traditional foods longer,” said Carolina Batis, doctoral candidate in nutrition at UNC and a native of Mexico. “The diets of Mexicans born in the U.S. almost entirely reflect the diet of the American culture. We’re seeing that families often become completely acculturated to the American diet within one generation in the U.S.” Batis and her colleagues examined the diets of more than 16,000 people in four groups: Mexicans, Mexicans who have immigrated to the U.S., Mexican-Americans born in the U.S., and non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. They examined data from the Mexican National Nutrition Survey, taken in 1999, and the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999-2006. The study examined children (ages 2 to11 years) and female adolescents and adults (ages 12 to 49 years).
The study reported changes in what people drink and what they add to their food. For example, research showed that most Mexicans drink their coffee black, but when they come to the U.S., they choose to drink it with milk or cream and sugar. Few Mexicans drink fruit juice, but that number nearly triples when Mexicans migrate to the U.S. Consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas also nearly doubles for Mexicans who have immigrated. Non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. drink more sugar-sweetened sodas than do Mexicans in Mexico, but not as many as Mexicans born in the U.S.
“Our research showed us that the diets of both the Mexican-Americans born in Mexico and those born in the U.S. have more in common with the American diet than with the Mexican diet,” Batis said. “The diets of children and adolescent girls were even closer to the American diet of non-Hispanic whites than the Mexican adult women.”
One big difference, Batis said, is that people in the U.S. eat fewer corn tortillas than people in Mexico. Corn tortillas have low fat, low sodium and high fiber content, and typically provide Mexicans with about 25 percent of their daily calories.
“We do need to look at this more closely, to see if the health effects of corn tortillas are really there,” Batis said. “If eating fewer tortillas means the people eat a greater variety of healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables, then the difference in healthfulness of the diets may not be as great. But if they substitute with chips, pizza and french fries, then the corn tortillas may be a better choice.”
There are some benefits of adopting an American diet, Batis said. For example, Mexicans who immigrated to the U.S., and even first-generation Hispanics born in the U.S., report eating more fruits and vegetables than people living in Mexico, and even more than second-generation Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites.
“A possible reason is that in the traditional Mexican diet, vegetables are used mostly as ingredients in soups or with rice, pasta or meat,” Batis said. ” After immigrating to the U.S., they probably began eating more salads and vegetable side dishes. We don’t know why that trend doesn’t continue in later generations.”
While the findings of the study were mixed, Batis said, one thing is clear. “We need to continue educating Mexican-Americans about the health effects of some aspects of the American diet,” she said. “Embrace the high-fiber breads, low-fat milk and lean meats and fish, but watch out for the sugars, salty snacks and french fries. It’s very similar to the message we have for everyone in the U.S. Be conscious of what you are eating.”
In addition to Batis, the study’s authors are Barry M. Popkin, PhD, W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of nutrition at UNC, and Lucia Hernandez-Barrera, Simon Barquera and Juan Rivera, all of the Nutrition and Health Research Center, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico.Hear Batis discuss her research in a video on the American Society for Nutrition website.
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
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