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Nativity and Nutritional Behaviors in the Mexican Origin Population Living in the US-Mexico Border Region

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between nativity and nutritional behaviors and beliefs in the Mexican American population living in the South Texas border region. Mexican Americans living the border region of South Texas were sampled to assess their nutrition behaviors and beliefs. Nativity was measured as whether subjects were born in the United States or Mexico. Nutritional behaviors were measured using the SPAN and indexes were used to measure barriers to good nutrition, dietary self-efficacy, and dietary importance. OLS regression analysis was used and adjustments were made for sociodemographic factors. Differences between US-born Mexican Americans and Mexico-born Mexican Americans existed in nutritional beliefs, but not in behaviors. Mexico-born Mexican Americans reported their dietary choices as more important and reported greater food self-efficacy than their US-born Mexican American counterparts. Socioeconomic status influenced US-born Mexican Americans nutritional beliefs only and the same effect was not observed for Mexico-born Mexican Americans. Despite low levels of overall acculturation in the border region dietary beliefs still exist between immigrants and US-born Mexican Americans in dietary beliefs, but, not behaviors in US-born Mexican Americans.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by MD000170 P20 funded from the National Center on Minority Health and Health disparities (NCMHD), and the University of Texas Houston Health Sciences Center, Center for Clinical and Translational Science CCTS-CTSA award 1U54RR023417-01 funded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Sciences Department, University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX, USA

    Jared A. Montoya

  2. School of Public Health, University of Texas, Brownsville Regional Campus, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX, 78520, USA

    Jennifer J. Salinas, Cristina S. Barroso, Lisa Mitchell-Bennett & Belinda Reininger

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  1. Jared A. Montoya
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  2. Jennifer J. Salinas
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  3. Cristina S. Barroso
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  4. Lisa Mitchell-Bennett
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  5. Belinda Reininger
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Correspondence to Jennifer J. Salinas.

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Montoya, J.A., Salinas, J.J., Barroso, C.S. et al. Nativity and Nutritional Behaviors in the Mexican Origin Population Living in the US-Mexico Border Region. J Immigrant Minority Health 13, 94–100 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9342-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9342-8

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