Unraveling common threads in obesity risk among racial/ethnic minority and migrant populations.
Affiliation(s)
(Kumanyika) Department of Community Health and Prevention, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Year
2019
Citation
Public Health. Vol.172, 2019, pp. 125-134.
Journal
Public Health
Conference name
Conference location
Grant information
Organisation: (WUSTL) Washington University in St. Louis Organisation No: 100007268 Country: United States
No: P30DK092950 Organisation: (NIDDK) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Organisation No: 100000062 Country: United States
No: P30DK092950 Organisation: (NIDDK) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Organisation No: 100000062 Country: United States
Abstract
Background: Epidemic obesity poses a major threat to global health. This phenomenon reflects the inability of the average person to cope, biologically and behaviorally, with environmental contexts that promote caloric overconsumption and inadequate caloric expenditure. There is still much to be learned about how to improve these contexts nationally and within-countries for sociodemographic groups with above-average obesity risks. Method(s): Higher obesity risks relative to respective white majority populations were identified among diverse Indigenous, other native-born, or migrant 'racial' or ethnic minority (hereafter, ethnic minority) populations in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, using publicly available national survey data or other sources. Cross-national comparisons were of interest for identifying common risk pathways associated with social and economic inequities. Potential explanations were explored through a narrative review of peer-reviewed literature, informed by the World Health Organization's Conceptual Framework for Action on The Social Determinants of Health. Main findings: Identifying viable solutions to the high risk of obesity in ethnic minority populations in these high-income countries requires examination of national-level social, economic, and health system contexts, food systems, and built environments for physical activity, as well as patterns of social stratification and cultural biases related to ethnicity, migration, and other determinants of social disadvantage. These factors can be linked to mediators of exposure or vulnerability to obesity-related risks, such as poverty, being an 'outsider', stress and trauma resulting from historical and current oppression, exposure to bias and discrimination, related biological or behavioral consequences, and inadequate health and social care. Conclusion(s): Focusing on ethnic minority populations in high-income countries is critical for public health efforts to address epidemic obesity. Mitigating intersecting risk pathways arising from stratification and bias based on ethnicity and migrant status should be prominent in these efforts.Copyright © 2019 The Royal Society for Public Health
PubMed ID
31227270 [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=31227270]
Type
Article
Study type
Subjects
Obesity