Study: Immigrant Children Three Times as Likely to Have Low Physical Activity Levels

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Latino kid remote TVImmigrant children of any race/ethnicity have less physically active lives compared to U.S.-born white children, according to a new study, Voxxi News reports.

The Rice University study noted a similar disparity for U.S. minorities:

  • U.S.-born black children were 1.35 times as likely to have lower levels of physical activity.
  • U.S.-born Hispanic children are 1.23 times as likely.
  • U.S.-born children of unspecified ethnicity are 1.52 times as likely.

The study is similar to another study that found that 22.5% of immigrant Hispanic children were physically inactive compared with 9.5 percent of U.S.-born white children. The older study also noted that, compared with native white children, the odds of television watching were 1.5 and 2.3 times higher for native Hispanic and non-Hispanic black children, respectively.

Why the less physically active lifestyle for immigrants and minorities? Voxxi News found:

Some experts theorize the disparity may have to do with a lack of awareness of the importance of physical activity in children, but other factors may come into play. Immigrant families may live in more dangerous neighborhoods where it is not desirable for children to be outside without supervision, and immigrant parents often work long hours and are unable to attend sporting events or drive children to after school activities.

[Researchers] were unable to link the disparity to socioeconomic or neighborhood factors, however, suggesting there is another reason why immigrant children are more inactive compared to native children.

“These children comprise a growing population of American youth, and failing to address the low levels of physical activity among this group could have important long-term health consequences as this population transitions into adolescence and adulthood,” said Mackenzie Brewer, a Rice University doctoral student and the study’s lead author.

By The Numbers By The Numbers

20.7

percent

of Latino kids have obesity (compared to 11.7% of white kids)

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