Impact of Social Support on Mediating Life Stressors on Abdominal Obesity among Migrant Farm Workers

Despite initiatives to reduce it, obesity continues to increasingly affect the socioeconomically disadvantaged. A large body of research exists on social support, life stressors, and health outcomes; however, there is a dearth of studies that address health outcomes of one of the most disadvantaged populations, Hispanic migrant farm workers. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between social support, life stressors, migratory frequency, and abdominal obesity among Hispanic migrant farm workers. The psychobiologic-stress response process model guided this study. The study sought to examine whether social support mediates the effect of life stressors on abdominal obesity, and used a quantitative, cross-sectional design. Three survey tools, available in Spanish or English, were administered to a convenience sample of 70 Hispanic migrant farm workers. There were significant positive correlations between migratory frequency, stressors, and abdominal obesity. These results suggest that waist-to-hip ratio increases, as the number of migrations to find migrant work and number of stressful life events increase. Multiple regression tested for independent and mediating effects between predictor variables and abdominal obesity. Social support did not have a mediating effect between stress and abdominal obesity, possibly due to lack of distinction between positive and negative support. The implications for positive social change include awareness among health care professionals, community leaders, and lawmakers on the role of migration and stress on abdominal obesity and prevention of chronic disease among Hispanic migrant farm workers. This knowledge may benefit health care providers and public health professionals by allowing planning of more effective and practical interventions for the Hispanic migrant farm worker population.