Immigration and Obesity

Immigrants comprise a large and growing portion of the U.S. population. The term immigrants usually refers to first-generation immigrants or people who were born outside the United States. However, there are also second-generation immigrants (those born in the United States with at least one foreign-born parent) and third-generation immigrants (born in the United States of one or more second-generation immigrant parents).

Historically, many immigrants have been born in countries where the prevalence of obesity is lower than it is in the United States. Thus, upon arrival in the United States, the majority of immigrants have had a lower body weight than native-born Americans. However, with time, immigrants and their subsequent generations of children have tended to have increased rates of obesity that meet and even surpass those of their native-born counterparts.

Although this entry focuses on U.S. immigrants, developed countries all over the world, including Canada, Britain, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Australia, and Israel, have experienced a similar pattern of healthy-weight immigrants growing overweight and obese at a rate beyond that of the native born. In addition, developing countries have been undergoing a massive internal migration of people moving from the poor rural areas to urban areas with similar results. Because the immigrant population is the fastest-growing population segment in the United States and other developed countries, and is significant in developing countries as well, addressing the issue of obesity in immigrants is of increasing consequence worldwide.

Who are Immigrants?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2003, the U.S. population consisted of 33.5 million foreign born, representing 11.7 percent of the population. (In comparison, according to the United Nations, there were a total of 91 million immigrants in high-income developed countries, and 51 million in low- and middle-income countries in 2005.)

U.S. immigrants are a heterogeneous population. The largest group (53.3 percent) were born in Latin America (comprised of Central America, the Caribbean, and South America). The second largest group (25 percent) were born in Asia. The remainder hail from Europe and other regions of the world. Mexico has been the top-sending country in contemporary times, and has been the wellspring for approximately one-third of all immigrants arriving in the United States each year since 2000. Historically, most immigrants have settled in large metropolitan areas and in California and New York. However, the immigrant population is becoming more dispersed, with small towns and suburbs and states such as Texas, Florida, [Page 386]New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, and North Carolina absorbing an increasing share.

By definition, immigrant populations are incredibly diverse, Similarly, rates of obesity in immigrants have a wide range.

Most of the existing U.S. data on obesity represent immigrants of Hispanic origin because they comprise the largest and fastest-growing proportion of immigrants in the United States. However, data on Asian Americans are increasing.

Obesity Rates in Immigrants

There is considerable variation in overweight and obesity rates among immigrant groups according to country of origin, race, length of time in the United States, generation, age, and gender. For example, over 73 percent of Mexican-American adults are overweight and 37 percent of Mexican Americans are obese. On the other hand, the percentage of Asian Americans classified as obese is very low, with East Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and Southeast Asian female immigrants having the lowest rates of obesity or overweight: only 9 percent of Vietnamese or Chinese women are overweight, but 25 percent of Asian Indian women are overweight. Vietnamese men have a low prevalence of overweight (17 percent) compared with Japanese (42 percent).

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