When naming makes the difference: healthy immigrant effect
...A growing body of literature describes what has come to be known as the “healthy migrant” phenomenon-the fact that on many measures, first-generation immigrants are often healthier than U.S.-born residents who share similar ethnic or racial backgrounds. Over time, however, the migrant health advantage diminishes dramatically. In the “paradox of assimilation,” the length of time that an immigrant spends in the United States is correlated with increases of low birth-weight in infants, risky behaviors in adolescents, cancer, anxiety and depression, and general mortality. This healthy migrant effect is particularly surprising because immigrants tend to have higher rates of poverty than U.S.-born residents and because many come from countries that have lower standards of living than that in the United States. http://www.minnesotamedicine.com/PastIssues/March2007/FennellyClinicalMarch2007/tabid/1641/Default.aspx
...There are many competing explanations for this phenomenon including health screening by recipient countries, healthy behaviour prior to migration followed by the steady adoption of new country (less) healthy behaviours, and immigrant self-selection where healthier and wealthier people tend to be migrants. We find evidence of strong positive selection effects for immigrants from all regions of origin in terms of education. However, we also find evidence that self-selection in terms of unobservable factors is an important determinant of the better health of recent immigrants. Possible unobservable characteristics include the degree to which immigrants are forward looking and therefore look after both their health and choose to migrate because of the potential higher returns to their skills. http://ideas.repec.org/p/mcm/sedapp/164.html
...The likelihood that a baby born in the U.S. will die within its first year is less than a third of what it was 50 years ago. But among mothers who were, themselves, born in the U.S., infant mortality rates are some 40% higher than for U.S.-born babies of non-native mothers. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/07/08/immigrant-moms-typically-have-lower-infant-mortality-rates-than-u-s-born-mothers/
...Hispanic and Latino Americans tend to have health outcomes that paradoxically are comparable to, or in some cases better than, those of their U.S. white counterparts, even though Hispanics have lower average income and education. The specific cause of the phenomenon is poorly understood, although the decisive factor appears to be place of birth, raising the possibility that differing birthing and/or neonatal practices might be involved via a lack of breastfeeding combined with birth trauma imprinting (both common in American obstetrics) and consequent mental and physical illness, the latter compounded by the impact of psychological problems on the capacity for social networking. It appears that the Hispanic Paradox can not be explained by the "healthy migrant effect." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic_Paradox
A lot of things might've become more transparent had this mysterious effect been called the "unhealthy US-born slob" effect!
...There are many competing explanations for this phenomenon including health screening by recipient countries, healthy behaviour prior to migration followed by the steady adoption of new country (less) healthy behaviours, and immigrant self-selection where healthier and wealthier people tend to be migrants. We find evidence of strong positive selection effects for immigrants from all regions of origin in terms of education. However, we also find evidence that self-selection in terms of unobservable factors is an important determinant of the better health of recent immigrants. Possible unobservable characteristics include the degree to which immigrants are forward looking and therefore look after both their health and choose to migrate because of the potential higher returns to their skills. http://ideas.repec.org/p/mcm/sedapp/164.html
...The likelihood that a baby born in the U.S. will die within its first year is less than a third of what it was 50 years ago. But among mothers who were, themselves, born in the U.S., infant mortality rates are some 40% higher than for U.S.-born babies of non-native mothers. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/07/08/immigrant-moms-typically-have-lower-infant-mortality-rates-than-u-s-born-mothers/
...Hispanic and Latino Americans tend to have health outcomes that paradoxically are comparable to, or in some cases better than, those of their U.S. white counterparts, even though Hispanics have lower average income and education. The specific cause of the phenomenon is poorly understood, although the decisive factor appears to be place of birth, raising the possibility that differing birthing and/or neonatal practices might be involved via a lack of breastfeeding combined with birth trauma imprinting (both common in American obstetrics) and consequent mental and physical illness, the latter compounded by the impact of psychological problems on the capacity for social networking. It appears that the Hispanic Paradox can not be explained by the "healthy migrant effect." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic_Paradox
A lot of things might've become more transparent had this mysterious effect been called the "unhealthy US-born slob" effect!