The obesity epidemic in the U.S. has reached staggering proportions, with 65% of the adult population overweight and 31% obese. At present, 24% of all children are classified as overweight (body mass index (BMI)) 85th-94th percentile), with low-income, ethnic groups particularly at risk. Recent research has shown that exposure to an obesigenic environment, living in the U.S. 10 to 15 years, is associated with a significant increase in BMI in adult immigrants, while surprisingly little is known of such acculturation effects in children. With demographic predictions estimating that 1 out of every 5 children in the U.S. lives in a family where one or both parents are foreign-born, the urgency of examining the health needs of children born to immigrant parents is apparent. Does mothers' acculturation status offer any protective effect on child's nutritional status? What are the intergenerational effects on the development of childhood obesity in such ethnic groups? This study examines the influence of maternal acculturation level on early childhood nutritional status among underrepresented low income, immigrant and U.S. born mothers and their young children (ages 2-5 years) enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Boston and Springfield, MA. Mixed quantitative and qualitative methodologies are undertaken to test the influence of acculturation on early childhood BMI and dietary intake as well as mothers' perceptions, practices and behaviors related to early child feeding and risk of overweight. Other various mediating factors related to child feeding and risk of overweight such as mothers' weight status, breastfeeding duration, socio-economic status, social support networks, and household food insecurity are also investigated. The broader impact of this research is to promote graduate training while mobilizing the continuation of interdisciplinary partnerships between biological anthropology and public health researchers and the Massachusetts State WIC program. The broader impact of the research findings will be to identify the association of acculturation status with early child obesity and dietary intake among immigrants, providing a better understanding of one key barrier to preventing and managing childhood overweight among such low-income, minority, populations. Such knowledge about prevailing cultural and economic exigencies may serve as a basis for justification and design of behavioral intervention. Ultimately, this research will provide critical information for the design of culturally appropriate, efficacious maternal nutrition education models to have a wider, beneficial influence on early child feeding and weight status in ethnic and immigrant groups. The results of this project will be published in peer-reviewed anthropological, public health and nutrition journals in order to disseminate the findings and their potential implications to a wider audience.
