his translates into a positive correlation between lower socioeconomic conditions and obesity in the Mexican-American community. From a nutritional standpoint, overfeeding youngsters puts an entire population group at high health risk, not merely because of the obvious negative impact of obesity on the children themselves but because of the generational aspect of the situation that has been observed in the community. That is, obese mothers encourage and perpetuate unhealthful nutritional habits in a way that creates an entire etiological structure of health risks (Alexander, Sherman, and Clark, 1991). On the other hand, long-term psychological and emotional impacts of obesity on Mexican-American children have also been noted (Guinn, 1985).
Abuse of good nutritional habits has been found to be a pattern among Mexican-Americans, particularly in regard to drinking and diet, with diet a health-risk factor for Mexican-American adult men and women and drinking a particular risk among Mexican-American adult males. Poor nutrition and alcohol abuse have found
...