A Conceptual Model of Body Mass Index Assimilation

This article proposes a conceptual model of Body Mass Index (BMI) assimilation that links global nutrition patterns to the levels and socioeconomic variations in BMI among newly arrived immigrants and their children, and conceptualizes assimilation as occurring within socioeconomic strata. This approach leads to the expectation that overweight is likely to be positively associated with generation among those from low income countries (as measured by GDP/capita) with low socioeconomic status but negatively associated among those from low income countries with high socioeconomic status. The article next presents as an empirical example an analysis of generational patterns in BMI among children from kindergarten through fifth grade. Using data from the Kindergarten cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey (N = 16,664 children), the research estimated growth curve models and tested the significance of interaction terms among parental generational status (i.e., children of immigrants who arrived ages 0-11, children of immigrants who arrived ages 12+, and children of natives), socioeconomic status, and country-of-origin GDP/capita. The results pertaining to changes in BMI, but not baseline BMI (at age 5.5), were consistent with the conceptual model’s predictions. Possible explanations for the discrepancy, including factors that may be missing from the conceptual model, are discussed.