Ginny Garcia

The Fast Food and Obesity Link: Consumption Patterns and Severity of Obesity

BackgroundRates of extreme forms of obesity are rapidly rising, as is the use of bariatric surgery for its treatment. The aim of the present study was to examine selected behavioral factors associated with severity of obesity among preoperative bariatric surgery patients in the San Antonio area, focusing specifically on the effects of fast food consumption.MethodsWe used ordered logistic regression to model behavioral and attitudinal effects on obesity outcomes among 270 patients. These outcomes were based on the severity of obesity and were measured on the basis of body mass index.ResultsOur results indicated that, among the behavioral factors, fast food consumption exerted the largest influence on higher levels of obesity. These remained after controlling for several social and demographic characteristics.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that higher rates of fast food consumption are connected to the increasing rates of severe obesity. Given that morbid and super morbid obesity rates are growing at a more advanced pace than moderate obesity, it is necessary to explore the behavioral characteristics associated with these trends.

Mexican American and Immigrant Poverty in the United States

Acknowledgements Table of contents List of figures List of tables Nomenclature Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Prior Studies Chapter 3: Settlement and Geographic Redistribution Patterns Chapter 4: Data and Methods Chapter 5: Individual Level Results: Mexican Americans Chapter 6: Individual Level Results: Mexican Immigrants Chapter 7: Multilevel Analysis and Results Chapter 8: Implications and Policy Suggestions Chapter 9: Conclusion References Index Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C

New evidence on the effects of international migration on the risk of low birthweight in Mexico

The purpose of this article is to provide new empirical evidence linking migration of Mexican households to the USA with infant health outcomes. By using new data for Mexico, the Encuesta Nacional de la Dinamica Demografica 2006, this research focuses on the effect of migration on birth weight. Multivariate logistic regression methods are used to model low birth weight (LBW) as a function of a set of proximate, intermediate and socioeconomic determinants. In analyzing the channels through which migration affects birth outcomes, the findings provide no conclusive evidence for remittances as the only mechanism associated with lowering the odds of LBW. Given the limitations of the data, the study results showed new empirical evidence explaining the significance of both financial and social remittances associated with international migration and infant health outcomes in Mexico.

Patterns of Sexually Transmitted Infections in China

The analysis of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a topic of major interest in demography, sociology and other disciplines. Indeed the STI phenomenon itself has resulted in recent years in the creation of several new journals including AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Sexually Transmitted Infections. STIs are a problem of enormous import in the world today and continue to spread at alarming rates. Furthermore, they are increasingly affecting larger and larger numbers of people. Specifically, sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV, are now gaining a foothold in the heterosexual population in China. The heterosexual population of China is at risk of infection for several reasons. These include the spread of infection via commercial sex workers in coastal provinces into mainland China by educated business men as well as by the growing number of surplus boys. China has also seen a rise in infection levels concurrent with their open door policy. This chapter explores the differing impacts of these infections in the People’s Republic of China. Though STIs are referred to by some investigators as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), sexually transmitted infection (STI) is the most current and appropriate descriptor. Previously referred to as venereal diseases (VDs), they are now known as infections for various reasons that are associated with the stigma surrounding the terms “venereal,” “disease” and “sexually transmitted.” Whereas a disease is indicative of a lifelong and potentially incurable affliction, infection is in reality the more appropriate referent because of advances in modern medicine, which have rendered most

Settlement and Geographic Redistribution Patterns

The following section describes the movement and settlement patterns of Hispanics from the 1990s onward. Special emphasis is placed on foreign-born individuals and maps are presented that detail the changing geographic distribution of this group from 1990 to 2006. Information is based on decennial census data for 1990 and 2000, while ACS data is used for 2006. The maps display that a significant change in movement patterns has been observed beginning in the 1990s with a greater concentration of immigrants settling in the South and Midwest .

The fast food and obesity link

BackgroundRates of extreme forms of obesity are rapidly rising, as is the use of bariatric surgery for its treatment. The aim of the present study was to examine selected behavioral factors associated with severity of obesity among preoperative bariatric surgery patients in the San Antonio area, focusing specifically on the effects of fast food consumption.MethodsWe used ordered logistic regression to model behavioral and attitudinal effects on obesity outcomes among 270 patients. These outcomes were based on the severity of obesity and were measured on the basis of body mass index.ResultsOur results indicated that, among the behavioral factors, fast food consumption exerted the largest influence on higher levels of obesity. These remained after controlling for several social and demographic characteristics.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that higher rates of fast food consumption are connected to the increasing rates of severe obesity. Given that morbid and super morbid obesity rates are growing at a more advanced pace than moderate obesity, it is necessary to explore the behavioral characteristics associated with these trends.

Individual Level Results: Mexican Americans

This chapter presents the findings associated with the individual level outcomes for Mexican Americans. The next chapter will present similar results for Mexican immigrants. Several models have been developed; as noted, this chapter deals specifically with those estimated for the Mexican American population in the Southwest United States. Hypotheses are presented in reference to this population along with a discussion of the populations selected for comparison, namely, Blacks, Whites, and Asians. Summary statistics are presented for each population as are the details associated with variable construction, and operationalization, for the models.

Multilevel Analysis and Results

This chapter presents and discusses the results of multilevel logit regression equations examining the effects on poverty of the individual characteristics of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in addition to the contextual level characteristics of SPUMAs in the Southwestern United States. These populations have emerged as ones that necessitate a multitude of analyses given their expected growth rates and levels of poverty in the coming decades. The preceding chapters examined the effects of individual level characteristics on the log odds of three different types of poverty, and offered quite a bit of insight into the nature of the disadvantages faced by both populations, i.e., Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants. However, little has been done to examine the impact of contextual level characteristics with respect to these groups. Given the fact that Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants maintain high rates of employment and more often reside in dual-parent households, it becomes essential to examine other influences than personal characteristics, which may be imparting significant impacts on poverty.

Data and Methods

This chapter describes the data and methods used to analyze rates of poverty at the individual and contextual levels for Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in the Southwestern United States. The individual-level data were extracted from the American Community Survey , 2006 using the IPUMS system provided by the Minnesota Population Center. The focus is on four dependent variables, namely, extreme poverty , 100% poverty, low income, and relative poverty status. These outcomes are examined relative to several principal independent variables including ethnicity, citizenship status, undocumented status (for Mexican immigrants) and type of occupation, among others. As the results are considered on the basis of a binary dependent variable (i.e. likelihood of reporting to any of the four outcomes of poverty), logistic regression is the proper method of analysis and is described in full detail. This is followed by descriptive tables containing the selected variables and their definitions.

Implications and Policy Suggestions

As mentioned above, the associations with poverty of a number of the variables employed at both the individual and contextual levels call for further investigation. At the individual level , some of the most salient predictors were immigration status (for Mexican Americans), unemployment status, number of children present, number of years spent in the USA (For Mexican immigrants), employment in a Mexican immigrant job, and undocumented status (for Mexican immigrants). The descriptive statistics revealed that both the Mexican American and Mexican immigrant populations are significantly disadvantaged relative to other ethnic groups. In some cases they displayed poverty rates nearly four times higher than those of the comparison populations. The importance of this finding lies in the fact that protections were in place to ensure that family structure would not interfere in the prediction of poverty. As such, other factors are much more significant in the prediction of poverty for Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants. The predictors related to immigration played a significant role in the prediction of poverty and serve to underscore its importance in the determination of any poverty outcome. In addition, employment in a Mexican immigrant job was a significant predictor of poverty status for both populations and serves to highlight the importance of type of occupation rather than actual employment status per se for these groups. As a result, we clearly see the effects of wage inequality on the Mexican American and Mexican immigrant populations.