Family and Cultural Influences on Hispanic Children’s Health

Family is central to many aspects of Hispanic children's health and well-being. In addition to socioeconomic factors, family dynamics strongly influence health behaviors and outcomes.

With regard to nutrition, multiple researchers have found that there are notable differences in perceptions on eating habits within families and across generations. For example, Garcia and colleagues (2019)conducted focus groups with Hispanic youth aged 10 to 17 and their caregivers and found a disconnectbetween adolescents’ and parents’ perceptions of unhealthy eating habits. Teens often attributed unhealthy diets to permissive parenting or busy schedules that limited family meals, whereas parents cited a lack of nutritional knowledge and time constraints. These findings underscore the importance of engaging bothgenerations in health programs and understanding the perspectives of both groups.  

In addition, Higgins and Murray (2010) found that grandparents and other skipped-generation caregivers strongly influence children’s diets, relying on past experience and advice while facing challenges like screen time and busy lifestyles, highlighting the need for targeted nutrition education, especially in Hispanic families. Finally, Mena and colleagues (2015) observed similar patterns among parents of preschoolers. They found that meals eaten at childcare often shaped what children consumed at home, and extended family members, like grandparents and uncles, could either reinforce or interfere with healthy feeding practices. 

All of these studies demonstrate that food practices are embedded within inter-generational family systems, and interventions must account for these dynamics to be effective. 

Food is more than nutrition, however: it is culture, tradition, and family connection, which are in turn affected by migration status and levels of acculturation.  Migration status can have protective effects, according to a study by Jaacks and colleagues (2012), who found that youth with at least one foreign-born parent had better diabetes control and a lower obesity risk. With regard to acculturation, Diaz et al. (2009) found that less-acculturated teens aimed to eat more healthfully. In addition, Walters (2016) explored the perspectivesof Latino high school students in New Mexico and found that family heritage and cooking practices were central to their food choices: many students viewed cooking as a way to honor traditions, gain independence, and access healthier food in households where ready-to-eat or fast foods were common. These studies suggest that greater rootedness in the culture of families’ place of origin may encouragehealthier behaviors, offering insights for programs aiming to support youth from diverse backgrounds. 

Finally, gender also shapes Latino adolescents’ dietary intentions: females were motivated by health and appearance, males by athletic performance, and family and peers influenced choices differently across groups, highlighting the need for gender-tailored interventions (Diaz et al., 2009).

Socioeconomic Effects on Maternal and Child Health:

Maternal health before and during pregnancy  plays a critical role in shaping children’s long-term health outcomes, and it is affected by socioeconomic and environmental factors. For example, a study of Puerto Rican women in Western Massachusetts found that those born in the United States or with higher generational status had higher gestational weight gain than women born in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. This pattern suggests that exposure to the U.S. “obesogenic” environment, with easy access to calorie-dense foods and sedentary lifestyles, may influence pregnancy outcomes (Tovar et al., 2012).

Chambers and colleagues (2005) highlighted another risk: alcohol consumption among pregnant Latinas in San Diego. While most women reported abstaining during pregnancy, nearly half had consumed alcoholbefore realizing they were pregnant, and some reported binge drinking. These maternal behaviors have implications for fetal development and later health, reinforcing the need for early interventions that reach women before and during pregnancy (Chambers et al., 2005).

After birth, socioeconomic factors continue having measurable effects on children’s health outcomes. Batalha et al. (2025) found that Hispanic/Latino children with caregivers from stable low-income ordownwardly mobile families had lower cardiovascular health, with effects varying by age and sex, highlighting the need for tailored interventions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also found that obesity prevalence was highest among Hispanic children (26.2%) compared with non-Hispanic White children (16.6%).

Access to food, snacking habits, and food insecurity also shape health outcomes. A 2019 study found that children often perceived themselves as less food secure than their parents realized. This discordance was especially common in low-income Hispanic families receiving government assistance, indicating that parents may underestimate the nutritional challenges their children face (Landry et al., 2019). Blake andcolleagues (2021) further observed that caregivers offered high-sugar, high-fat snacks for non-nutritive reasons, such as rewards or social occasions. These patterns suggest that interventions targeting snacking habits and emphasizing healthful alternatives could have a meaningful impact on children’s long-termhealth.

More broadly, a 2020 study found that Latinx/@ immigrants’ health in New Mexico was shaped by social inclusion/exclusion, personal agency, and community support. While organizations buffered somestressors, systemic challenges like discrimination still impacted families, indirectly affecting children’s health and emphasizing the need for culturally and structurally informed interventions (Vasquez Guzman et al., 2020).

Interventions and Community-Based Strategies

The studies mentioned above point out specific issues affecting Hispanic/Latino children and teenagers’ health and offer suggestions for more targeted support. Other researchers who have focused on the area of Hispanic/Latino health offer additional insights that may help to design successful health interventions. Digitaltechnology, for example, appears to offer promising new avenues to support Hispanic families. Ad andcolleagues (2023) piloted One innovative approach is a pilot mobile phone–based obesity intervention program forpreschool-aged Latino children, which engaged mothers, fathers, and grandparents in both English and Spanish, providing nutrition education and parenting support over eight weeks (Ad et al., 2023). Zeldman and colleagues (2025) explored gamified versus traditional web-based nutrition modules for caregivers and found that combining elements of both formats maximized engagement and learning. These studies illustrate the potential of culturally relevant digital interventions to reach families who might face barriers to attending in-person programs (Zeldman et al., 2025).

Supporting Hispanic families’ well-being also requires culturally competent professionals. US medical students could benefit from programs that specifically focus on understanding the cultural backgrounds of Hispanic/Latino patients. One successful example of this is a Spanish language and cultural immersion program in Mexico City for U.S. graduate students, which fostered multicultural competencies, language skills, and understanding of historical and cultural factors affecting Latin American mental health. Such programs help ensure mentalhealth services are effective, culturally sensitive, and grounded in lived experience (Platt, 2012).

In sum, the health of Hispanic students is shaped by a plethora of factors including family dynamics, cultural influences, broader socioeconomic levels and community resources. The brief review of studies presented here indicates that public health programs that engage multiple caregivers, reflect cultural values, address food insecurity, incorporate both community-based and digital education strategies, and train culturally-sensitive healthcare providers can help to successfully improve health outcomes for the Hispanic/Latino community. 

References

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About the author

Kinjal Nayak is a dentist and epidemiologist who bridges clinical care and advanced data analytics. She leverages predictive modeling and surveillance systems to uncover disease patterns and translate insights into innovative, evidence-based prevention strategies that improve population health outcomes.