Going flat: examining heterogeneity in the soda-obesity relationship by subgroup and place of birth among Asian Americans

Abstract

Objective: To determine if the association between soda consumption and obesity is uniform among Asian-American population subgroups.

Design: We conducted multivariate logistic regression analyses on odds of being obese among seven Asian subgroups and by place of birth using data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey.

Setting: An omnibus population-based health survey.

Subjects: Non-institutionalized adults, aged 18 years or over, residing in California (n 36 271).

Results: Despite low levels of soda consumption in several Asian-American ethnic groups, soda consumption increased the odds of being obese among Chinese, Koreans and Other Asians but not for Whites. Obesity risk varied across Asian subgroups and by place of birth within these subgroups.

Conclusions: More public health efforts addressing soda consumption in Asian-American communities are needed as a strategy for not only preventing chronic diseases but also disparities, considering the varying levels of soda intake across subgroups. Results support the growing body of literature critiquing acculturation theory in immigrant health research by documenting inconsistent findings by place of birth. Future research should take into account the heterogeneity among Asian Americans to advance our understanding of health outcomes and disparities.

Keywords: Acculturation; Asian; Obesity; Soda.

Fig. 1

(colour online) Predicted probability of obesity according to soda consumption and ethnicity (, White; , Japanese American; , Filipino American; , Vietnamese American; , Chinese American; , Korean American; , South Asian American; , Other Asian American) among non-institutionalized adults aged 18 years or over, California Health Interview Survey 2009 (n 36 271)