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Obesity and Asian Americans: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Future Research Directions

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Abstract

Obesity has been declared a global epidemic by the World Health Organization, and rates have also been rising among Asian Americans. In this chapter, we will discuss how obesity is defined and measured and if current definitions of obesity apply to Asian Americans; how prevalent obesity is among Asian Americans; why obesity is such a major public health concern today; what factors increase risk for obesity especially in the Asian American population; and ideas for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    May C. Wang

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  1. May C. Wang
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Correspondence to May C. Wang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Asian American Studies Department, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway, EP 103, San Francisco, 94132, USA

    Grace J. Yoo

  2. , Department of Asian Studies, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway, EP 103, San Francisco, 94132, USA

    Mai-Nhung Le

  3. Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, 91702, California, USA

    Alan Y. Oda

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Wang, M.C. (2013). Obesity and Asian Americans: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Future Research Directions. In: Yoo, G., Le, MN., Oda, A. (eds) Handbook of Asian American Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2227-3_18

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