Commentary: A social-ecological perspective on obesity among Latinos

The Southeast United States has experienced rapid growth in the Latino population - mostly Mexican immigrants - with the number of Latinos in the region nearly quadrupling over the past decade. These states, known as new settlement areas, are not as well prepared to meet the health needs of Spanish-speaking immigrants compared to traditional settlement states like Florida, Texas, and California. Unfortunately for these families, immigration to the United States is often associated with becoming obese, or having children at a higher risk for obesity. Rates of obesity have risen dramatically among all racial and ethnic groups in the past few decades, however, Latinos of all ages have the highest rates of overweight and obesity compared to other racial and ethnic groups. One explanation is that although adjustment to a new environment and culture takes considerable time, the adoption of a more sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet occurs more rapidly, leading to significant increases in obesity between first and subsequent generations. Families are important referents in establishing health behaviors in children, and there are broader social and physical environmental factors that have strong associations with the development of obesity as well. Moreover, immigrant families must strive to be healthy while coping with acculturative stressors. Relationships between all of these factors are typically studied in isolation. This article explores obesity among new settlement Latino families and provides an integrated conceptual model anchored in the social ecological perspective.