African youth and obesity: The role of the intergenerational acculturation gap

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The financial cost of obesity to the Australian community is estimated to be $21.9 billion when the costs borne by individuals are taken into account. Understanding and addressing factors that extenuate health inequalities and reduce obesity will lead to a reduction in the burden of diseases and healthier ageing population. Our study will be the first to apply acculturation theories to examine the family environment and family dynamics that predispose adolescents from one of the fastest growing immigrant populations, Africans, to obesity, and to produce culturally competent and tested models to inform large scale, population-level obesity prevention programs and policies.