Overweight and Its Relationship to Middle Eastern American College Students' Sociodemographics and Physical Activity

Overweight and obesity plague American society and their burden is shared disproportionately by minorities at all age levels (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2000). Among adolescents (ages 12–19 years) and young adults (ages 20–39 years), the prevalence of overweight is at least 8.9% and 8.4% greater, respectively, in non-Hispanic Black and Mexican American populations compared to non-Hispanic Whites (Hedley et al., 2004). The ramifications of overweight are well documented and include chronic morbidities such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and certain forms of cancer (USDHHS, 2000). Immigrants, who comprise 11% of the U.S. population and are a greater proportion of this country’s minority population, experience significant increases in body mass index (BMI) after 10 years of residency in the United States; after 15 years, their prevalence of obesity resembles that of U.S.-born adults (Goel, McCarthy, Phillips, & Wee, 2004). There is concern that the increased risk of morbidity is in part attributable to immigrants incorporating more of the health-damaging behaviors associated with the native population (Myers & Rodriguez, 2003). Epidemiologists Read, Amick, and Donato (2005) stated that “Americans of Arab descent are a population of increasing size and importance” (p. 82). In California, where this study was conducted, a 34% population increase of those identifying an Arabic speaking ancestry was noted between the 1990 and 2000 census (Arab American Institute Foundation, 2003). With few exceptions, the prevalence of morbidities in Arab Americans is higher than other minority groups and non-Arab Whites. Arab American women displayed higher triglyceride and lower high density lipoprotein levels than African and Caucasian Americans (Hatahet & Fungwe, 2005). In earlier studies, a high prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and overweight/obesity (Aswad, 2001; Hatahet, Khosla, & Fungwe, 2002) and a higher prevalence of diabetes in Arab Americans with lower levels of acculturation were noted (Jaber, Brown, Hammad, Zhu, & Herman, 2003). Fifth-grade Arab American youth living in Michigan showed lower prevalence of overweight (27.5% vs. 31.2%) and higher prevalence of obesity (16.5% vs. 15.8%) compared to U.S. prevalence estimates (Abou-Mediene & Shamo, 2005; Hedley et al., 2004). Depending on the study, there appears to be differential prevalence of morbidities based on definition and degree of acculturation. In support of a favorable effect of lower levels of acculturation on morbidity, Read et al. (2005) reported that Arabs who were citizens reported worse health than noncitizens regardless of how long the noncitizens resided in the US. Conversely, Jaber et al. (2003) suggested that the lower incidence of diabetes in more acculturated Arab Americans reflected “adoption of healthy western habits (such as isocaloric low-fat diets and regular physical activity)” (p. 2013). Dallo and James Overweight and Its Relationship to Middle Eastern American College Students’ Sociodemographics and Physical Activity