The Relationship between Maternal Age, Generational Status, & Childhood Obesity in the Hispanic-american Population
Open Access
Author:
Wisniewski, Megan Marie
Area of Honors:
Sociology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Jennifer Lynne Van Hook, Thesis Supervisor Stacy Silver, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Childhood obesity Hispanic-Americans maternal age generational status
Abstract:
The health outcomes of the Hispanic-American population are vital to the overall health of the United States of America. Hispanic-Americans drive population growth in America with high fertility and immigration rates. This research centers on the relationship between maternal age, generational status, and childhood weight outcomes in the Hispanic-American population. Utilizing the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) compilation data from the years 1999/2000 through 2011/2012, childhood weight outcomes for children aged 2-6 are analyzed in relation to maternal age, generational status, socioeconomic determinants, race, and maternal health practices. In this sample, teenage motherhood does not have a direct effect on childhood weight outcomes. However, teenage motherhood increases risk factors linked to childhood obesity such as the likelihood of a mother smoking during pregnancy and reductions in maternal educational attainment. The association between maternal age and breastfeeding is positively correlated in a bivariate analysis, but not in the multivariate models. Additionally, the association between generational status and breastfeeding rates is negatively correlated in the bivariate analysis, but is not significantly related in the multivariate analyses.
