Summary
Published Date: February 22, 2019
Authors aimed to examine the association between immigrant generation and obesity among Californian adults and Asian Americans using pooled weighted data on 2,967 Asian Americans from the 2013–2014 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). Multiple logistic regression analyses were used with adjustment for age, sex, family income, smoking status, marital status, education, physical activity, and fast food consumption.
Findings:
- The percentage of first, second, and third generation were 72.7%, 22.6%, and 4.6%, respectively.
- Overall, 23.3% of the Asian population was obese, and 40.0% was overweight.
- Overall, first generation of Asians had lower odds of being obese compared to whites.
- Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that overall, second generation and third generation Asians had higher odds of being obese compared to first generation Asians.
- Among Chinese, compared to the first generation, the third generation had increased likelihood of being obese.
Compared to white people, Hispanics, and black people, Asian immigrants are less likely to be obese. Among Asians, second and third generations were more likely to be obese compared to first generation. The obesity rate seems to increase the longer Asian immigrants remain in the U.S.
Publication Authors:
- Shaoqing Gong
- Kesheng Wang
- et al