The document provides information about the Maya people, including their history of social, economic, and political repression. It then discusses health studies comparing Maya children living in Guatemala to those who have immigrated to the United States and live in Los Angeles and Indiantown, Florida. The studies find that Maya children in the US have better growth outcomes, being on average 10 cm taller and with 7 cm longer legs, but also face higher risks of overweight and obesity due to obesogenic environments in their new communities.

1. Who are the Maya?
• One of the largest ethnic groups of
Guatemala, Mexico and Belize
• Long history of social, economic, and
political repression

4. The Maya Creation Story

5. Xmucane
Divine Grandmother
to the Gods

6. People of the Corn: The Milpa

7. El Dorado

10. The Milpa: People of the Corn

11. Maya Priest with Cacao

12. Representation of a cacao plant

13. Civil War in Guatemala,19601996, forced many to migrate.
From the late
1970s the
Maya
migrated in
greatest
numbers to
Mexico and
then the
United States

14. Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Peace Nobel Prize 1992)
Maya, genocide survival

15. Los Angeles
Indiantown
Guatemala

17. The Maya in Mérida, Mexico

20. Los Mayas del Norte:
Biocultural aspects of health status of
Guatemala Maya children living in the
United States.
Barry Bogin & Maria Inês Varela-Silva
Loughborough University
B.A.Bogin@lboro.ac.uk
Patricia K. Smith
University of Michigan-Dearborn
James Loucky
Western Washington University

21. Maya in Disneyland:
Growth and Health of the
Children of Immigrants to the
United States
Samples boys and girls, 6-12 years old
measured in Los Angeles, CA and
Indiantown, Fl
Site visits in 1992 (N=213) and 1999-2000
(N=431)
Compared with Maya in Guatemala 1998
(N=1353) and the NHANES reference data

22. Los Angeles,
California
Indiantown,
Florida

24. Mean height of Maya samples and mean
height of NHANES reference data
155
150
145
Height (cm)
140
135
130
125
120
115
110
mean diff. = 10.24 cm
105
100
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Age (years)
Age (years)
Maya-Guat
Maya-USA1992
Maya-USA2000
NHANES
NHANES

25. Mean sitting height ratio (SHR) of Maya
samples and mean SHR of NHANES
reference data
58
Sitting Height Ratio
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
mean diff. In leg length = 7.02 cm
50
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Age (years)
Maya-Guat
Maya-USA2000
SHR= [(sitting height/height)*100]
NHANES

26. Mean body mass index (BMI) of Maya samples
and mean BMI of NHANES reference data
24
Body Mass Index
22
20
18
16
14
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Age (years)
Maya-Guat
Maya-USA1992
Maya-USA2000
BMI= [weight (kg)/stature2 (m)]
NHANES

27. Prevalence of Stunting, Overweight, and Obesity: Indiantown 2000
Stunted
Overweight
Obese
n
Maya
11.5%
48.6%
25.3%
296
Mexican
3.8
35.0
28.0
157
Haitian
7.7
30.8
23.1
13
Euro. Amer.
0.0
24.5
18.4
49
African Amer.
0.7
31.7
25.9
139
Others
0.0
41.7
38.9
36
TOTAL
6.1
39.7
33.5
690
The rate of stunting for Guatemala overall is 44 percent, but for Maya
children the rate is 58 percent. United States national average of
overweight is 13% in this age group.

28. Obesogenic environments

29. The Maya of Indiantown
Photos from 1992 - 2008

30. Indiantown Demographics
• Major Employers
Via Tropical.....................450
Florida Power & light......153
Cogeneration Plant……...70
Indiantown Group.............47
Bay State Milling..............36
Tampa Farm Service.......35
First Bank of Indiantown..26
• Population
1990 ........ 8,300
1995 ........ 9,700
1997 ……10,679
2000 ……15,530

31. Indiantown – 150th Street, near
Hope Rural School

32. Hope Rural School – Arts & Crafts

33. Restaurant #1& Food Shop #1

34. Food store #2

35. Restaurant #2 & Food Shop #3

36. Restaurant #3 & Food Shop #4

37. Food Shops #4 & #5

38. Health Center #1

39. Health Center #1

40. Food Shops #6

41. Pharmacy #1 - Restaurants #4 & #5

42. Restaurants #4 & #5

43. Food Shop #7 & Restaurant #6
13 places to buy food, mostly junk food

44. The Juice Plant

45. Orange Groves

46. The Guatemala Maya Center,
Lake Worth, Florida

47. The Guatemala Maya Center,
Lake Worth, Florida

48. Junk Food at
Lake Worth
Imported from
Guatemala
and Mexico

49. After School Program,
Guatemala Maya Center

50. After School
Program,
Guatemala
Maya Center

51. House in Maya Neighborhood

52. Biocultural model of some relationships
affecting child health in immigrant
families
Socioeconomic
status
- occupation
- earnings
- education
Assimilation path
- melting pot
- bicultural
- avoidance
Lifestyle
- diet
- physical activity
Parental
investment
- health care
- education
- “happiness”
Child health
outcomes
- growth

53. La familia maya

54. Biocultural changes in the Maya Family
Guatemala
Los Angeles

55. The next step in our research –
Intergenerational, nutritional, behavioural
risks for child obesity
Mother’s nutritional
status during childhood
lower limb
Mother’s actual
nutritional status BMI
Child’s
overweight/
obesity level
Child’s fat-to-carbohydrate
oxidation ratio Respiratory
quotient
Child’s physical activity
Accelerometry
Child’s nutrition Healthy
Eating Index
Family rural/urban
gradient (4 sites)
Family migratory
status (Did mother
migrate?)
Early determinants of
child’s health
(Good beginnings index)

56. Maya in D is y nd
nela :
Growth and Health of the
Children of Immigrants to the
United States

61. Maya Project Mission: RTI
Research
Training
Keep a steady stream
of research projects
aiming to improve the Continue and improve
training sessions and
health and living
conditions of the Maya programmes so that
PD of local scholars is
guaranteed
Community engagement
Implement on-site
facilities and
educational
programmes that will
directly benefit the
Maya communities

62. Maya Project Mission: Impact
Other cultural
events
Seminars
Art exhibitions
Dissemination of
results

63. SCHOOL CHILDREN LEARN ABOUT HEALTH AND
NUTRITION WITH THE MAYA PROJECT
mayaproject.org.uk
@MayaProjectUK

64. HANDLING CORN

65. HOW DOES THAT TORTILLA FEEL?

66. YES, THE MASKS HAVE HORNS

67. AND THIS IS A COMAL WITH EXAMPLES OF MAYA FOOD

68. SHARING FOOD…LEARNING ABOUT IT

69. SPANISH RICE, BEANS, AND CORN…HUMM…!

70. NOW, LET’S START DRAWING ABOUT IT