An exploration of the prevalence, risk factors, and health outcomes of obesity among an ethnically diverse sample of Asian Americans

Abstract

Obesity has increased to epidemic proportions and has become a major public health concern of the 21st century (Stein, & Colditz, 2004). When examining obesity rates among different ethnic groups, Asian Americans are usually less obese than their counterparts (Nam, 2013). Consequently, this has led Asian Americans to become an understudied population within obesity research (Nam, 2013). Despite Asian Americans being frequently reported as having low overweight and obesity rates as compared to other major racial/ethnic groups, the rates of obesity are increasing (Singh & Lin, 2013). Therefore, the present study seeks to expand the limited literature on obesity among Asian Americans. My study aims to identify the following: 1) the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes) and 2) risk factors related to obesity among Asian Americans using the social ecological model of health. Specifically, I focus on individual level factors (e.g., diet) and community level factors (e.g., access to fresh produce). The current study used data from the 2017 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). A total of 1,057 Asian Americans (Chinese: N=410, 38.8%; Filipinos, N=265, 25.1%; Japanese: N=141, 13.3%; Vietnamese: N=137, 13%; Korean: N=104, 9.8%) residing across California were included in the study. Descriptive analyses were conducted via crosstabs to assess the distribution of obesity and obesity-related health outcomes (e.g., type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular disease (CVD)) across the Asian subgroups. Furthermore, multivariate analyses (MANOVAs) were used to assess ethnic group differences among BMI categories on five outcomes: diet, SES, physical activity, food environment, and neighborhood environment across aggregated and disaggregated data. Ultimately, the findings of this study will aid in the development of obesity interventions that ensure Asian Americans receive equitable care.