Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Obesity and Overweight in Ethnic Minorities of the Detroit Metropolitan Area of Michigan

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Community Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Race, ethnicity and socioeconomic factors influence the prevalence of obesity and overweight, which are major public health problems. Our objectives were (1) to calculate the prevalence of self-reported obesity and overweight in whites, blacks, Chaldeans, and Arabs in the Detroit metropolitan area; and (2) to examine the odds for self-reported overweight and obesity in the racial and ethnic minorities when compared to whites. The responses to a self-administered survey conducted among the adult residents (n = 2,883) of the Detroit metropolitan area of Michigan were analyzed. Prevalence of overweight and obesity were 47.4 and 34.6 % respectively for the whole sample, while it was 39.9 and 43.6 % for whites, 42.3 and 47.8 % for blacks, 46.2 and 30.3 % for Chaldeans, and 52.2 and 28.5 % for Arabs. The odds for obesity was significantly lower in Arabs [odds ratio (OR) 0.31; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.13–0.72] and Chaldeans (OR 0.14; 95 % CI 0.06–0.33) when compared to whites. Chaldeans (OR 0.36; 95 % CI 0.15–0.86) had significantly decreased likelihood for being overweight compared to whites. Odds for obesity and overweight can vary in the different ethnic minorities within whites. Sharing similar living conditions decreases the differences in the odds for overweight and obesity between whites and blacks. Taking into consideration the racial and ethnic differences of the target population may help in developing better programs for fighting overweight and obesity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Haidar, Y. M., & Cosman, B. C. (2011). Obesity epidemiology. Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, 24(4), 205–210. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1295684.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Haslam, D. W., & James, W. P. (2005). Obesity. Lancet, 366(9492), 1197–1209. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67483-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Madan, J. C., Davis, J. M., Craig, W. Y., Collins, M., Allan, W., Quinn, R., et al. (2009). Maternal obesity and markers of inflammation in pregnancy. Cytokine, 47(1), 61–64. doi:10.1016/j.cyto.2009.05.004.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Wang, Y., Beydoun, M. A., Liang, L., Caballero, B., & Kumanyika, S. K. (2008). Will all Americans become overweight or obese? Estimating the progression and cost of the US obesity epidemic. Obesity (Silver Spring), 16(10), 2323–2330. doi:10.1038/oby.2008.351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Whitlock, G., Lewington, S., Sherliker, P., Clarke, R., Emberson, J., Halsey, J., et al. (2009). Body-mass index and cause-specific mortality in 900 000 adults: Collaborative analyses of 57 prospective studies. Lancet, 373(9669), 1083–1096. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60318-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2005a). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Prevalence and Trends Data. [Graph illustration of overweight and obesity for Michigan in 2005]. Retrieved from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSS/display.asp?state=MI&cat=OB&yr=2005&qkey=4409&grp=0&SUBMIT4=Go.

  7. Paeratakul, S., Lovejoy, J. C., Ryan, D. H., & Bray, G. A. (2002). The relation of gender, race and socioeconomic status to obesity and obesity comorbidities in a sample of US adults. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 26(9), 1205–1210. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802026.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Bowie, J. V., Juon, H. S., Cho, J., & Rodriguez, E. M. (2007). Factors associated with overweight and obesity among Mexican Americans and Central Americans: Results from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey. Preventing Chronic Disease, 4(1), A10.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2011a). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Prevalence and Trends Data. [Graph illustration of overweight and obesity for the US in 2011 by race]. Retrieved from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSS/race.asp?cat=OB&yr=2011&qkey=8261&state=US.

  10. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2009). Differences in prevalence of obesity among black, white, and hispanic adults—United States, 2006–2008. MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 58(27), 740–744. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5827a2.htm.

  11. U.S. Census Bureau. (2000a). The Arab population: 2000. Census 2000 brief. Retrieved from http://aems.us/files/US_Census_Data_2000.pdf.

  12. U.S. Census Bureau (n.d.a) About race. Retrieved June 10, 2013 from http://www.census.gov/population/race/about/.

  13. Kathleen, K. (Ed.). (2008). Encyclopedia of obesity (1st ed., pp. 116–117). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Kumaraswamy, P. R. (2003). Problems of Studying Minorities in the Middle East. Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, 2(2), 244–264.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Al-Hazza, T., & Lucking, R. (2005). The minority of suspicion: Arab Americans. Multicultural Review, 14(3), 32–38.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Arab American National Museum. (n.d.). Arab Americans-an integral part of American society [Booklet]. Retrieved June 10, 2013 from http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/umages/pdfs/resource_booklets/AANM-ArabAmericansBooklet-web.pdf.

  17. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2005b). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Prevalence and Trends Data. [Graph illustration of overweight and obesity for Michigan in 2005 by race]. Retrieved from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSS/race.asp?cat=OB&yr=2005&qkey=4409&state=MI.

  18. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2005c). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. SMART: City and County Data [Graph illustration of overweight and obesity for the Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Division in 2005]. Retrieved from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSS-SMART/MMSARiskChart.asp?yr=2005&MMSA=26&cat=OB&qkey=4409&grp=0.

  19. U.S. Census Bureau (n.d.b). State and county quickfacts. Retrieved June 10, 2013 from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/26/2622000.html.

  20. U.S. Census Bureau. (2000b). The white population: 2000. Census 2000 brief. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-4.pdf.

  21. Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce. (2008). The Chaldeans in Metropolitan Detroit-2008 household survey results. Retrieved from http://issuu.com/chaldeanchamber/docs/2008chaldeanhouseholdsurvey?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222.

  22. Dallo, F. J., & Borrell, L. N. (2006). Self-reported diabetes and hypertension among Arab Americans in the United States. Ethnicity and Disease, 16(3), 699–705.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Jamil, H., Fakhouri, M., Dallo, F., Templin, T., Khoury, R., & Fakhouri, H. (2008). Disparities in self-reported diabetes mellitus among Arab, Chaldean, and black Americans in Southeast Michigan. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 10(5), 397–405. doi:10.1007/s10903-007-9108-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Jaber, L. A., Brown, M. B., Hammad, A., Nowak, S. N., Zhu, Q., Ghafoor, A., et al. (2003). Epidemiology of diabetes among Arab Americans. Diabetes Care, 26(2), 308–313.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Jamil, H., Raymond, D., Fakhouri, M., Templin, T., Khoury, R., Fakhouri, H., et al. (2011). Self-reported asthma in Chaldeans, Arabs, and African Americans: factors associated with asthma. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 13(3), 568–575. doi:10.1007/s10903-010-9390-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Jamil, H., Grzybowski, M., Hakim-Larson, J., Fakhouri, M., Sahutoglu, J., Khoury, R., et al. (2008). Factors associated with self-reported depression in Arab, Chaldean, and African Americans. Ethnicity and Disease, 18(4), 464–470.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Jamil, H., Fakhouri, M., Dallo, F., Templin, T., Khoury, R., & Fakhouri, H. (2008). Self-reported heart disease among Arab and Chaldean American women residing in southeast Michigan. Ethnicity and Disease, 18(1), 19–25.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Schwartz, K. L., Kulwicki, A., Weiss, L. K., Fakhouri, H., Sakr, W., Kau, G., et al. (2004). Cancer among Arab Americans in the metropolitan Detroit area. Ethnicity and Disease, 14(1), 141–146.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Gunaid, A. A. (2012). Obesity, overweight and underweight among adults in an urban community in Yemen. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 18(12), 1187–1193.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Haddad, F. G., Brax, H., Zein, E., & Abou, E. H. T. (2006). Obesity and related diseases in a Lebanese medical center. Le Journal médical libanais. The Lebanese medical journal, 54(3), 152–155.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Sabbah, I., Vuitton, D. A., Droubi, N., Sabbah, S., & Mercier, M. (2007). Morbidity and associated factors in rural and urban populations of South Lebanon: A cross-sectional community-based study of self-reported health in 2000. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 12(8), 907–919. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3156.2007.01886.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Al-Tawil, N. G., Abdulla, M. M., & Abdul Ameer, A. J. (2007). Prevalence of and factors associated with overweight and obesity among a group of Iraqi women. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 13(2), 420–429.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Sibai, A. M., Hwalla, N., Adra, N., & Rahal, B. (2003). Prevalence and covariates of obesity in Lebanon: findings from the first epidemiological study. Obesity Research, 11(11), 1353–1361. doi:10.1038/oby.2003.183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Naja, F., Nasreddine, L., Itani, L., Chamieh, M. C., Adra, N., Sibai, A. M., et al. (2011). Dietary patterns and their association with obesity and sociodemographic factors in a national sample of Lebanese adults. Public Health Nutrition, 14(9), 1570–1578. doi:10.1017/S136898001100070X.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Abdul-Rahim, H. F., Abu-Rmeileh, N. M., Husseini, A., Holmboe-Ottesen, G., Jervell, J., & Bjertness, E. (2001). Obesity and selected co-morbidities in an urban Palestinian population. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 25(11), 1736–1740. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0801799.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Hatahet, W., Khosla, P., & Fungwe, T. V. (2002). Prevalence of risk factors to coronary heart disease in an Arab-American population in southeast Michigan. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 53(4), 325–335. doi:10.1080/09637480220138124.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Yun, K., Hebrank, K., Graber, L. K., Sullivan, M. C., Chen, I., & Gupta, J. (2012). High prevalence of chronic non-communicable conditions among adult refugees: implications for practice and policy. Journal of Community Health, 37(5), 1110–1118. doi:10.1007/s10900-012-9552-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2005d). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Prevalence and Trends Data. [Graph illustration of health care access/coverage for Michigan in 2005]. Retrieved from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/display.asp?cat=HC&yr=2005&qkey=880&state=MI.

  39. U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). American Community Survey. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR_S1701&prodType=table.

  40. Koebnick, C., Smith, N., Huang, K., Martinez, M. P., Clancy, H. A., & Kushi, L. H. (2012). The prevalence of obesity and obesity-related health conditions in a large, multiethnic cohort of young adults in California. Annals of Epidemiology, 22(9), 609–616. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2012.05.006.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Smith, T. J., Marriott, B. P., Dotson, L., Bathalon, G. P., Funderburk, L., White, A., et al. (2012). Overweight and obesity in military personnel: sociodemographic predictors. Obesity (Silver Spring), 20(7), 1534–1538. doi:10.1038/oby.2012.25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Bleich, S. N., Thorpe, R. J, Jr, Sharif-Harris, H., Fesahazion, R., & Laveist, T. A. (2010). Social context explains race disparities in obesity among women. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 64(5), 465–469. doi:10.1136/jech.2009.096297.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Link, C. L., & McKinlay, J. B. (2009). Disparities in the prevalence of diabetes: is it race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status? Results from the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) survey. Ethnicity and Disease, 19(3), 288–292.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Jaber, L. A., Pinelli, N. R., Brown, M. B., Funnell, M. M., Anderson, R., Hammad, A., et al. (2011). Feasibility of group lifestyle intervention for diabetes prevention in Arab Americans. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 91(3), 307–315. doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2010.11.032.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) (2005e). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Prevalence and Trends Data. [Graph illustration of health care access/coverage for Michigan in 2005]. Retrieved from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/display.asp?cat=HC&yr=2005&qkey=880&state=MI.

  46. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2011b). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Prevalence and Trends Data. [Graph illustration of health care access/coverage for Michigan in 2011]. Retrieved from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/display.asp?yr=2011&state=MI&qkey=8031&grp=0&SUBMIT3=Go.

  47. Garrison, R. J., Kannel, W. B., Stokes, J, I. I. I., & Castelli, W. P. (1987). Incidence and precursors of hypertension in young adults: The Framingham Offspring Study. Preventive Medicine, 16, 235–251.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Donahue, R., Bloom, E., Abbott, R., Reed, D., & Yano, K. (1987). Central obesity and coronary heart disease in men. The Lancet, 329(8537), 821–824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Nyholm, M., Gullberg, B., Merlo, J., Lundqvist-Persson, C., Rastam, L., & Lindblad, U. (2007). The validity of obesity based on self-reported weight and height: Implications for population studies. Obesity (Silver Spring), 15(1), 197–208. doi:10.1038/oby.2007.536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Wen, M., & Kowaleski-Jones, L. (2012). Sex and ethnic differences in validity of self-reported adult height, weight and body mass index. Ethnicity and Disease, 22(1), 72–78.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Kirk Allison, PhD, MS, Director at University of Minnesota Program in Human Rights and Health, for reviewing the article and making suggestions for improving it.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA

    Hikmet J. Jamil, Ambili Kariaparambil Rajan, Monty Fakhouri & Bengt Arnetz

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA

    Mary Grzybowski

  3. Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Mary Grzybowski

  4. Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Bengt Arnetz

Authors
  1. Hikmet J. Jamil
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ambili Kariaparambil Rajan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mary Grzybowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Monty Fakhouri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bengt Arnetz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hikmet J. Jamil.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jamil, H.J., Kariaparambil Rajan, A., Grzybowski, M. et al. Obesity and Overweight in Ethnic Minorities of the Detroit Metropolitan Area of Michigan. J Community Health 39, 301–309 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-013-9760-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-013-9760-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation