Obesity and Asian Americans

• Non-Hispanic whites are 60 percent more likely to be obese as compared to Asian Americans.
• From 2004-2006, Filipino adults were 70 percent more likely to be obese as compared to the overall Asian population.
• About 1 in 10 Vietnamese and Korean adults were underweight, from 2004-2006.1
• People who are overweight are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, high levels of blood fats, diabetes and LDL cholesterol – all risk factors for heart disease and stroke.2

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who were overweight or obese, 2013-2016. (Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or greater)
	Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	49.9	75.3	0.7
Women	36.6	64.8	0.6
Total	42.7	69.8	0.6

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who were obese, 2013-2016. (Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or greater)
	Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	10.9	37.0	0.3
Women	13.6	37.9	0.4
Total	12.5	37.4	0.3

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who were overweight but not obese, 2018. (Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or greater)
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
34.2	32.9	1.0

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who were obese, 2018. (Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater)
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
13.0	30.0	0.4

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	27.5	--	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 and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	29.2	1.1	0.8

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 and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	12.5	1.5	0.5

Children

Percentage of obesity among children and adolescents 6–11 years of age, 2013-2016
Non-Hispanic Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
12.9	14.0	0.9

Percentage of obese children and adolescents 6-17 years of age. 2013-2016
Non-Hispanic Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
11.0	15.5	0.7

Percentage of children age 2-17 for whom a doctor or other health provider ever gave advice about the amount and kind of physical activity, United States, 2016
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
48.3	47.5	1.0

Percentage of children age 2-17 for whom a doctor or other health provider ever gave advice about eating healthy, United States, 2016
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
66.5	63.7	1.0

Adolescents

Percentage of high school students who were overweight, 2017
	Non-Hispanic Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Females	14.3	14.3	1.0
Males	12.6	13.6	0.8
Total	13.4	14.0	1.0

Percentage of high school students who were obese, 2017
	Non-Hispanic Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Females	2.3	10.3	0.2
Males	13.9	14.8	0.9
Total	7.9	12.5	0.6

Health Impact of Obesity

Percentage of inactive physical activity among adults 18 years of age and over, 2018 (Did not meet federal physical activity guidelines)
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
41.6	38.9	1.1

Percentage of some leisure-time physical activity among adults 18 years of age and over, 2018 (Met aerobic guidelines only)
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
54.7	57.5	1.0

Percentage of regular leisure-time physical activity among adults 18 years of age and over, 2018 (Met federal physical activity guidelines)
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
22.9	25.8	0.9

Percentage of adults 18 years of age and over who were obese and were given advice to exercise more, United States, 2016
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
64.1	62.1	1.0

Percentage of adults 18 years of age and over who were obese and were given advice about eating fewer high fat or high cholesterol foods, United States, 2016
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
49.5	46.5	1.1

Risk Factors

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

• Diabetes – See Diabetes and Asian Americans
• Heart Disease – See Heart Disease and Asian Americans
• Stroke – See Stroke and Asian Americans

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1 Source: CDC 2008. Health Characteristics of the Asian Adult Population: United States, 2004-2006, page 5. (Back to top)

2 Source: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html (Back to top)