Demographic and sociocultural risk factors for adulthood weight gain in Hispanic/Latinos: results from the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

Lindsay Fernández-Rhodes,Paul Smokowski,Evans K Lodge,Elva M Arredondo,Carmen R Isasi,Daniela Sotres-Alvarez,Penny Gordon-Larsen,Allison E Aiello,Kari E North,Nora Franceschini,Frank J Penedo,Maria M Llabre,William Arguelles,Linda C Gallo,Martha L Daviglus,Nicole M Butera,Krista M Perreira

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11848-9

Abstract

BackgroundUnited States (US) Hispanic/Latinos experience a disproportionate burden of obesity, which may in part be related to demographic or sociocultural factors, including acculturation to an US diet or inactive lifestyle. Therefore, we sought to describe the association between adulthood weight histories and demographic and sociocultural factors in a large diverse community-based cohort of US Hispanic/Latinos.MethodsWe estimated the effect of several factors on weight gain across adulthood, using multivariable linear mixed models to leverage 38,759 self-reported current body weights and weight histories recalled for 21, 45 and 65 years of age, from 15,203 adults at least 21 years of age at the baseline visit of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (2008–2011).ResultsThe average rate of weight gain was nearly 10 kg per decade in early adulthood, but slowed to < 5 kg a decade among individuals 60+ years of age. Birth cohort, gender, nativity or age at immigration, Hispanic/Latino background, and study site each significantly modified the form of the predicted adulthood weight trajectory. Among immigrants, weight gain during the 5 years post-migration was on average 0.88 kg (95% CI: 0.04, 1.72) greater than the weight gain during the 5 years prior. The rate of weight gain appeared to slow after 15 years post-migration.ConclusionsUsing self-reported and weight history data in a diverse sample of US Hispanic/Latinos, we revealed that both demographic and sociocultural factors were associated with the patterning of adulthood weight gain in this sample. Given the steep rate of weight gain in this population and the fact that many Hispanic/Latinos living in the US immigrated as adults, efforts to promote weight maintenance across the life course, including after immigration, should be a top priority for promoting Hispanic/Latino health and addressing US health disparities more broadly.

Highlights

United States (US) Hispanic/Latinos experience a disproportionate burden of obesity, which may in part be related to demographic or sociocultural factors, including acculturation to an US diet or inactive lifestyle
Using self-reported and weight history data in a diverse sample of US Hispanic/Latinos, we revealed that both demographic and sociocultural factors were associated with the patterning of adulthood weight gain in this sample
Given the steep rate of weight gain in this population and the fact that many Hispanic/Latinos living in the US immigrated as adults, efforts to promote weight maintenance across the life course, including after immigration, should be a top priority for promoting Hispanic/Latino health and addressing US health disparities more broadly

Summary

Introduction

United States (US) Hispanic/Latinos experience a disproportionate burden of obesity, which may in part be related to demographic or sociocultural factors, including acculturation to an US diet or inactive lifestyle. Limited prospective data exist on the etiology of weight gain in this understudied population, it is thought that such within group differences may reflect differential exposures to either demographic or sociocultural risk factors (e.g. nativity, age at immigration, acculturative stress, etc.) for weight gain, or differential experiences with obesity-related health conditions later in adulthood [6,7,8]. Independent of childhood or young adult body mass, adulthood weight gain is a risk factor for all-cause morbidity and mortality later in life [9,10,11], and is more likely to lead to the deposition of extra weight in the abdomen where fat is most metabolically detrimental [12]. Weight maintenance for Hispanic/ Latino adults or other US immigrant groups is a key target for public health interventions to combat the obesity epidemic and to mitigate worsening cardiovascular risk factors in this population [14, 15]

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