IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v9y2012i4p1201-1215d17122.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Hispanic Ethnic Concentration and Socioeconomic Status on Obesity Prevalence in Texas Counties

Author

Listed:
  • Jennifer J. Salinas

    (Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA)

  • Elizabeth Rocha

    (Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA)

  • Bassent E. Abdelbary

    (Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA)

  • Jennifer Gay

    (Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA)

  • Ken Sexton

    (Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Hispanic ethnic concentration is associated with a higher prevalence of obesity and, if this relationship exists, whether it is affected by the socioeconomic environment. The study uses the Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) linked to 2000 census data to access the relationship between prevalence of obesity, Hispanic ethnic concentration, poverty and level of education at a county-level. The findings suggest that the association of Hispanic ethnic concentration and obesity varies by socioeconomic environment. Although little influence was observed for % poverty, the relationship between Hispanic ethnic concentration and obesity differed by county-level educational attainment. High proportion of residents with a bachelor’s degree is associated with a low prevalence of obesity; counties with both high % Hispanic and high % with Bachelor’s degrees had the lowest prevalence of obesity. Our results suggest that promoting and improving education, perhaps including training on healthful living, may serve as an effective means of curbing current obesity trends and associated health problems in Hispanic and possibly other ethnic communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer J. Salinas & Elizabeth Rocha & Bassent E. Abdelbary & Jennifer Gay & Ken Sexton, 2012. "Impact of Hispanic Ethnic Concentration and Socioeconomic Status on Obesity Prevalence in Texas Counties," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-15, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:9:y:2012:i:4:p:1201-1215:d:17122
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/9/4/1201/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/9/4/1201/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schwarte, L. & Samuels, S.E. & Capitman, J. & Ruwe, M. & Boyle, M. & Flores, G., 2010. "The central California regional obesity prevention program: Changing nutrition and physical activity environments in California's heartland," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(11), pages 2124-2128.
    2. Mair, Christina & Diez Roux, Ana V. & Osypuk, Theresa L. & Rapp, Stephen R. & Seeman, Teresa & Watson, Karol E., 2010. "Is neighborhood racial/ethnic composition associated with depressive symptoms? The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 541-550, August.
    3. Michael D. M. Bader & Marnie Purciel & Paulette Yousefzadeh & Kathryn M. Neckerman, 2010. "Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments: Implications of Measurement Strategies," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 86(4), pages 409-430, October.
    4. Eschbach, K. & Ostir, G.V. & Patel, K.V. & Markides, K.S. & Goodwin, J.S., 2004. "Neighborhood context and mortality among older Mexican Americans: Is there a barrio advantage?," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(10), pages 1807-1812.
    5. Do, D. Phuong & Dubowitz, Tamara & Bird, Chloe E. & Lurie, Nicole & Escarce, Jose J. & Finch, Brian K., 2007. "Neighborhood context and ethnicity differences in body mass index: A multilevel analysis using the NHANES III survey (1988-1994)," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 179-203, July.
    6. Michael D. M. Bader & Marnie Purciel & Paulette Yousefzadeh & Kathryn M. Neckerman, 2010. "Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments: Implications of Measurement Strategies," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 86(4), pages 409-430, October.
    7. Cagney, K.A. & Browning, C.R. & Wallace, D.M., 2007. "The Latino paradox in neighborhood context: The case of asthma and other respiratory conditions," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(5), pages 919-925.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kelin Li & Ming Wen & Kevin A. Henry, 2014. "Residential Racial Composition and Black-White Obesity Risks: Differential Effects of Neighborhood Social and Built Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Jean Chang & Mignonne C. Guy & Cecilia Rosales & Jill G. de Zapien & Lisa K. Staten & Maria L. Fernandez & Scott C. Carvajal, 2013. "Investigating Social Ecological Contributors to Diabetes within Hispanics in an Underserved U.S.-Mexico Border Community," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Kelin & Wen, Ming & Henry, Kevin A., 2017. "Ethnic density, immigrant enclaves, and Latino health risks: A propensity score matching approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 44-52.
    2. Shell, Alyssa Marie & Peek, M. Kristen & Eschbach, Karl, 2013. "Neighborhood Hispanic composition and depressive symptoms among Mexican-descent residents of Texas City, Texas," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 56-63.
    3. Michael Carolan, 2021. "Putting food access in its topological place: thinking in terms of relational becomings when mapping space," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 243-256, February.
    4. Bimbo, Francesco & Viscecchia, Rosaria & Nardone, Gianluca, 2012. "Does the alternative food supply network affect the human health?," 126th Seminar, June 27-29, 2012, Capri, Italy 126060, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Andrew Fenelon, 2017. "Rethinking the Hispanic Paradox: The Mortality Experience of Mexican Immigrants in Traditional Gateways and New Destinations," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 567-599, September.
    6. Berning, Joshua P., 2012. "Access to Local Agriculture and Weight Outcomes," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 57-71, April.
    7. Fernando Riosmena & Randall Kuhn & Warren C. Jochem, 2017. "Explaining the Immigrant Health Advantage: Self-selection and Protection in Health-Related Factors Among Five Major National-Origin Immigrant Groups in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 175-200, February.
    8. Yang, Tse-Chuan & Shoff, Carla & Noah, Aggie J. & Black, Nyesha & Sparks, Corey S., 2014. "Racial segregation and maternal smoking during pregnancy: A multilevel analysis using the racial segregation interaction index," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 26-36.
    9. Jason Winfree & Philip Watson, 2021. "Buy Local and Social Interaction," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(4), pages 1454-1477, August.
    10. Meyer, Oanh L. & Besser, Lilah & Mitsova, Diana & Booker, Michaela & Luu, Elaine & Tobias, Michele & Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski & Mungas, Dan & DeCarli, Charles & Whitmer, Rachel A., 2021. "Neighborhood racial/ethnic segregation and cognitive decline in older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    11. Madeleine I. G. Daepp, 2015. "Prices and Availability of Healthy Foods across St. Louis," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 60(2), pages 209-224, September.
    12. Cannuscio, Carolyn C. & Hillier, Amy & Karpyn, Allison & Glanz, Karen, 2014. "The social dynamics of healthy food shopping and store choice in an urban environment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 13-20.
    13. Hong, Seunghye & Zhang, Wei & Walton, Emily, 2014. "Neighborhoods and mental health: Exploring ethnic density, poverty, and social cohesion among Asian Americans and Latinos," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 117-124.
    14. Zeng, Di & Thomsen, Michael R. & Nayga, Rodolfo M. & Bennett, Judy L., 2019. "Supermarket access and childhood bodyweight: Evidence from store openings and closings," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 78-88.
    15. Geoffrey T. Wodtke & Matthew Parbst, 2017. "Neighborhoods, Schools, and Academic Achievement: A Formal Mediation Analysis of Contextual Effects on Reading and Mathematics Abilities," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(5), pages 1653-1676, October.
    16. repec:zwi:journl:v:41:y:2012:i:1:p:57-71 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Cassie McMillan, 2019. "Tied Together: Adolescent Friendship Networks, Immigrant Status, and Health Outcomes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(3), pages 1075-1103, June.
    18. Giovanni Peira & Luigi Bollani & Chiara Giachino & Alessandro Bonadonna, 2018. "The Management of Unsold Food in Outdoor Market Areas: Food Operators’ Behaviour and Attitudes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    19. Morrissey, Taryn W. & Oellerich, Don & Meade, Erica & Simms, Jeffrey & Stock, Ann, 2016. "Neighborhood poverty and children's food insecurity," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 85-93.
    20. Fernando Riosmena & Rebeca Wong & Alberto Palloni, 2013. "Migration Selection, Protection, and Acculturation in Health: A Binational Perspective on Older Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 1039-1064, June.
    21. Arturo E. Osorio & Maria G. Corradini & Jerome D. Williams, 2013. "Remediating food deserts, food swamps, and food brownfields: helping the poor access nutritious, safe, and affordable food," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 3(4), pages 217-231, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:9:y:2012:i:4:p:1201-1215:d:17122. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.