Obesity and Asian Americans in the United States: Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

ObjectivesObesity is one of the most serious health problems in the world today. Asian Americans are usually less overweight and obese than African Americans and Hispanic Americans, but the rate of obesity in Asian Americans is still increasing, especially in younger generations. This research examines Asian American obesity using existing research, as a means of finding the need for greater emphasis on Asian American obesity intervention research.MethodsIn this research literature review, Asian American obesity using existing research as a means of finding the need for greater emphasis on Asian American obesity intervention research is examined. A systematic review is done in order to find Asian American obesity research, due to the minimal amount of existing studies. In total, there were only nine papers which were not duplicates and which still met the criteria for inclusion, from an initial 106 papers.ResultsThere is very little research on obesity in Asian Americans. Although the rate of obesity among Asian Americans is increasing, there are few related articles, projects, and surveys, and there is little information. There is a need for more specific and in-depth analysis of Asian American obesity. Asian Americans are associated with a lower waist circumference (WC) and BMI, while Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders are associated with a higher WC and BMI. Typically, Asian Americans who were born in the United States (US) tend to be overweight and more obese than those born in foreign countries.ConclusionBased on this literature review, it is concluded that there is a shortage of Asian American obesity research, even though there is an evident need for particular obesity intervention programs that target Asian Americans.

Body Mass Index and Mortality in a Very Large Cohort: Is It Really Healthier to Be Overweight?

“…Our data also concur with reports [33][34][35] showing that, by the usual categorizations, Asians have lower proportions of overweight and obese persons and that these persons have greater increased death risk than do whites or blacks. Our data also agree with reports 33,34 that Asians have a greater proportion of underweight individuals and that underweight Asians have no increased mortality risk. These relationships were generally similar for the various Asian ethnicities.…”

“…For baseline age categories of younger than 40, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, and 60 or more years, the ORs for overweight persons were, respectively, 1. 34…”

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Obesity Risk Reduction Behaviors and Demographic Factors among Chinese Americans

“…A shortage of Chinese American obesity research points to a need for more specific and in-depth analysis of health and nutrition-related interventions that target this population [36]. The Theory of Planned Behavior is a parsimonious framework in examining predictors of behavior, which provides a cornerstone underlying the design and implementation of effective nutrition education interventions.…”

American Heart Association’s Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics in Under-Represented Asian Americans

“…In terms of CVD risk factors, fewer Asian Americans are current smokers (9.6 %) as compared to non-Hispanic Blacks (18.3 %) and Whites (19.4 %) [7]. Asian Americans are three times less likely to be overweight or obese than Whites [8], but weight gain may be disproportionately associated with increased risk of hypertension and diabetes in this group [9]. …”