• Non-Hispanic Whites are three times more likely to be obese as Asian Americans.
• Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders are 3.7 times more likely to be obese than the overall Asian American population.
• Filipino adults are 70% more likely to be obese as compared to the overall Asian population.
• About 1 in 10 Vietnamese and Korean adults are underweight.¹
• The state of Hawaii found that the diabetes rate for Native Hawaiians was twice that of the White population.

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who are overweight but not obese, 2007. (Persons are considered overweight if they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or greater.)

Asians	Non-Hispanic White	Asians/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
29.2	34.5	0.8

Source:  CDC 2009. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2007. Table 31.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_240.pdf[PDF | 8.43MB]

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who are obese, 2007. (Persons are considered obese if they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater.)

Asians	Non-Hispanic White	Asians/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
8.9	24.8	0.4

Source:  CDC 2009. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2007. Table 31.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_240.pdf[PDF | 8.43MB]

Age-adjusted percent distributions of selected health behaviors for adults 18 years of age and over, 2004–2006, overweight but not obese

Population	Overweight	Ratio Overweight/ All Asian Population	Ratio Overweight / Whites
All Whites	34.6	--	--
All Asians		--	0.8
Chinese	21.8	0.8	0.6
Filipino	33.0	1.2	1.0
Asian Indian	34.4	1.3	1.0
Japanese	25.9	0.9	0.7
Vietnamese	19.1	0.7	0.5
Korean	27.3	1.0	0.8
Other Asian & NHOPI	29.2	1.1	0.8

Source:  CDC, 2008. Health Characteristics of the Asian Adult Population: United States, 2004-2006. Table 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad394.pdf[PDF | 476KB]

Age-adjusted percent distributions of selected health behaviors for adults 18 years of age and over, 2004–2006, obese

Population	Obese	Ratio Obese/ All Asian Population	Ratio Obese / Whites
All Whites	23.6	--	--
All Asians	8.1	--	0.3
Chinese	4.2	0.5	0.2
Filipino	14.1	1.7	0.6
Asian Indian	6.0	0.7	0.3
Japanese	8.7	1.1	0.4
Vietnamese	5.3	0.7	0.3
Korean	2.8	0.3	0.1
Other Asian & NHOPI	12.5	1.5	0.5

Source:  CDC, 2008. Health Characteristics of the Asian Adult Population: United States, 2004-2006. Table 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad394.pdf[PDF | 476KB]

Outpatient visits with counseling or education about diet and nutrition, 2003-2004

	Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	23.3	12.6	1.8
Women	21.0	12.7	1.7
Total	22.0	12.6	1.7

Source:  2006 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 237.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr06/index.html

CHILDREN

Percent of children age 2-17 for whom a doctor or other health provider gave ever advice about amount and kind of physical activity, United States, 2005

Asian	White	Asian/ White Ratio
26.3	35.9	0.7

Source:  2008 National Healthcare Quality Report. Table 6_3_2.3a
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr08/index.html

Percent of children age 2-17 for whom a doctor or other health provider ever gave advice about eating healthy, United States, 2005

Asian	White	Asian/ White Ratio
50.6	55.4	0.9

Source:  2008 National Healthcare Quality Report. Table 6_3_3.3a
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr08/index.html

Outpatient visits with counseling or education about diet and nutrition 0-17 years, 2003-2004

Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
18.0	14.3	1.3

Source:  2006 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 237.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr06/index.html

HEALTH IMPACT OF OBESITY

• More than 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. ²
• People who are overweight are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, high levels of blood fats, and LDL cholesterol ("a fatlike substance") -- all risk factors for heart disease and stroke. ²
• In 2007, Asian Americans were 1.1 times more likely to engage in inactive physical activity.
• From 2003-2004, Asian Americans were 1.4 times more likely to access outpatient counseling on exercise.

Physical Activity:

Inactive physical activity among adults 18 & over: 2007

Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
38.9	34.7	1.1

Source:  CDC 2009. Health United States, 2008. Table 74.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf[PDF | 8.2MB]

Some Leisure Time Physical Activity Among Adults 18 & over: 2007

Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
31.0	31.5	1.0

Source: CDC 2009. Health United States, 2008. Table 74.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf[PDF | 8.2MB]

Regular Leisure Physical Activity Among Adults 18 & over: 2007

Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
30.1	33.9	0.9

Source:  CDC 2009. Health United States, 2008. Table 74.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf[PDF | 8.2MB]

Outpatient visits with counseling or education about exercise, 2003-2004

	Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	16.5	9.2	1.8
Women	10.2	8.8	1.2
Total	12.9	9.0	1.4

Source:  2006 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 237.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr06/index.html

At a Glace – Risk Factors

Obesity is a risk factor for several diseases. For statistics on these related diseases see:

Diabetes – See Diabetes and Asians/Pacific Islanders

Heart Disease – See Heart Disease and Asians/Pacific Islanders

Stroke – See Stroke and Asians/Pacific Islanders