Children’s Obesity Trajectories in the U.S. and England: Disparities by Family Immigrant Status

Melissa L. Martinson, Princeton University
Sara McLanahan, Princeton University

This paper examines the BMI trajectories of children in the United States (US) and England, using longitudinal birth cohort studies – The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study for the US and the Millennium Cohort Study for England. Recent studies have pointed to higher rates of overweight and obesity among the children of immigrants in the US. We systematically explore BMI trajectories by parent’s nativity status in both the US and England – two countries with many social and cultural similarities but with very different immigrant groups. Growth models are estimated using multilevel modeling in Stata SE 11. We will present trajectories of BMI and obesity/overweight by parent’s nativity status, allowing for variation by race/ethnicity and a rich set of sociodemographic controls.