United States-Mexico Migration and the Prevalence of Obesity: A Transnational Perspective

Abstract

Country of birth and length of stay in the United States have proven to be strong predictors of obesity among Mexican Americans,¹ suggesting the US environment may be distinctively “obesogenic.”² For example, a 12-oz bottle of American-made Coca-Cola has 240 calories with 65 g of sugar, whereas Mexican-made Coca-Cola has 150 calories per 12-oz bottle with 39 g of sugar (the former is made from high-fructose corn syrup).^3,4 However, there is also evidence that immigrants are resistant to these influences: growth in body mass index (BMI), calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, is slower among immigrants than among US-born Mexican Americans.⁵ Studies have yet to examine the relationship between migration and obesity in a transnational perspective, including comparisons with the Mexican source population to help identify patterns distinctive to the United States.