American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 51, 944S-952S, Copyright © 1990 by The American Society for Nutrition

An evaluation of the associations between socioeconomic status and the growth of Mexican-American children: data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES 1982-1984)

¹ From Ross Laboratories, Columbus, OH; Ohio State University, Department of Anthropology, Columbus, OH, and the Division of Human Biology, Department of Pediatrics, Wright State University, Yellow Springs, OH

This study considers the associations between 1) various measures of growth (triceps, subscapular, medial calf, and suprailiac skinfold thickness; stature; weight; and weight/stature²) and 2) poverty status in a sample of 3587 Mexican-American children from HHANES (1982-1984). Comparisons are made with data for white children and black children in NHANES II (1976-1980). Differences between poor (at or below the poverty line) and nonpoor (above the poverty line) Mexican-American children were small and not statistically significant for most of the variables that were compared. Poor adolescent Mexican-American girls, however, had significantly greater mean skinfold thicknesses than nonpoor Mexican-American girls. When poverty status was held constant, Mexican-American children tended to be shorter but heavier and fatter than white children and black children. Across poverty status groups, weight/stature² tended to be relatively high in Mexican-American children.

Key Words: Poverty • weight • stature • weight/stature² • skinfold thickness • Mexican Americans