(P13-059-24) Association of Acculturation With Added Sugar Intake and Obesity Among Mexican American Adolescents: Results From NHANES 2009–2018

Objectives: US acculturation is a significant risk factor for poor diet quality, yet further research is needed to explore its associations with diet components among Latinx adolescents. Herein, we assessed the association of acculturation with added sugar intake and the mediating effect of excess added sugar intake between acculturation and weight status among Mexican American adolescents.

Methods: Data on Mexican American adolescents ages 12 to 19 years from NHANES 2009-2018 were used (n=1,317). Acculturation was assessed using the following proxies: language spoken at home (English vs. Spanish majority), child’s country of birth (US vs. foreign-born), caregiver’s country of birth (US vs. foreign-born), and child-caregiver birth dyad (both US-born vs. one foreign-born vs. both foreign-born). The added sugar intake category (≥10% total energy intake [TEI] as high consumption vs. < 10%TEI) was estimated from 24-hour dietary recall data. Logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between each acculturation proxy and the odds of high added sugar consumption. Path analysis was performed to assess whether high added sugar consumption had a mediating effect on the associations between each acculturation proxy and the odds of overweight/obesity (≥85th BMI percentile) vs. not. All statistical tests were adjusted for confounding (age, sex, physical activity, fiber intake, income, marital status, household size) and complex sampling weights.

Results: The odds of consuming 10% TEI or more added sugars were significantly greater among those who spoke mostly/only English at home (OR; 95%CI = 1.6; 1.0, 2.5) and for those with a US-born caregiver (2.2; 1.1, 4.2) or US-born child and caregiver dyad (2.8; 1.2, 6.5). No statistically significant mediating effect of high added sugar consumption was found between acculturation proxies and the odds of overweight or obesity.

Conclusions: US acculturation may be an important factor associated with excess added sugar consumption among Mexican American adolescents. Further research is warranted to understand the temporality and the complex causal relationships between acculturation, added sugar consumption, and overweight/obesity.

Funding Sources: Funding from National Institute of Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health was used to support this analysis.