Asian Americans would be every weight-watcher's envy as a recent study shows them to be thinner than other ethnic groups in the U.S.
Th Center for Disease Control and Prevention made a comparative analysis of the body mass index of Asian American volunteers, African Americans and Hispanic Americans, with 25 as the BMI threshold for being overweight, and here is what they found:
- Asian Americans = 38.6% are overweight
- Caucasians = 66.7% are overweight
- African Americans = 76.7% are overweight
- Hispanic Americans = 78.8% are overweight
Based on the CDC report, adult Asian men tend to be heavier than adult Asian women, with 43 per cent of men found overweight compared to 34.7 per cent of women.
Despite their leaner physique however, Asian Americans have almost the same probability of developing hypertension as Caucasians and Hispanics at 26.6 per cent. African Americans, on the other hand, posted the highest risk of developing hypertension at 42.1 per cent.
The figures are based on a 2011-2012 study that took physical measurements of Asian American volunteers who participated in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination survey.