Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health

, Volume 19, Issue 1, pp 41–49 | Cite as

Weight Loss Success Among Overweight and Obese Women of Mexican-Origin Living in Mexico and the United States: A Comparison of Two National Surveys

  • Sylvia Guendelman
  • Miranda Ritterman Weintraub
  • Martha Kaufer-Horwitz
Original Paper
First Online:
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Abstract

We assessed variations in and correlates of weight-loss success (WLS) among overweight/obese women in Mexico (WIMX) and Mexican–American women (MA). We used cross-national data from 2006 ENSANUT (Mexico) and NHANES (2001–2008) to compare 5061 WIMX with 550 MA’s without known metabolic conditions. WLS was defined as losing ≥5 % of body weight over 1 year. MA’s were more likely to attain WLS (OR 1.31; 95 % CI 1.01–1.70). WLS among WIMX was higher in those with at least high school, a provider screen of overweight and a lower BMI. Among MA’s, an incomplete high school versus primary education reduced the odds of WLS. Among women who lost ≥10 lbs, weight-loss strategies such as eating less were higher among MA’s. MA women were more likely than WIMX to attain WLS. Understanding these disparities can help design customized public health interventions that curb the obesity epidemic in these women in both countries.

Keywords

Mexican-origin women Binational comparison Weight maintenance Obesity Perceived weight control Weight-loss success 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This study was funded in part by the Programa de Investigación en Migración y Salud (PIMSA). The sponsor had no role in the design and conduct of the study, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or the preparation, review, or approval of the study. IRB approval was obtained from University of California Berkeley Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects and from Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán. We wish to thank Héctor Avila-Rosas for the helpful suggestions in defining our outcome variable, and Oscar Rubio for his helpful suggestions in defining “income”.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Sylvia Guendelman
    • 1
  • Miranda Ritterman Weintraub
    • 1
    • 2
  • Martha Kaufer-Horwitz
    • 3
  1. 1.School of Public HealthUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUSA
  2. 2.Public Health ProgramTouro University CaliforniaVallejoUSA
  3. 3.Obesity and Eating Disorders Clinic, Department of Endocrinology and MetabolismInstituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador ZubiránTlalpan, MexicoMexico

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