Is self-reported weight and racial discrimination associated with BMI and obesity? Does this relationship vary by years in the US?

Prior studies suggest that racial discrimination is associated with weight gain among African Americans, but it is unclear whether these findings are confounded by weight discrimination and generalize to other populations. Recent studies find that Asian Americans continue to experience racial discrimination and that these experiences are associated with cardiovascular, depression, and other outcomes related to obesity. The present study examines the hypothesis that self-reported racial discrimination is associated with increased body mass index (BMI) among Asian Americans. Additionally, reports of discrimination and rates of obesity appear to rise with increasing duration in the U.S. among immigrants. This suggests the second hypothesis, that the association between racial discrimination and BMI will strengthen with increasing years in the U.S. among immigrant Asians. The analysis was conducted with data from the 2002-2003 National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), a nationally representative sample of Asian Americans (N=2,096). We used regression models to test whether reports of racial discrimination had a significant relationship with increasing levels of BMI and obesity, controlling for weight discrimination, age, gender, marital status, region, ethnicity, generation, employment, income, health status and socially desirable reporting. Both hypotheses were supported: (1) there was a significant relationship between racial discrimination and increased BMI and obesity; (2) the association between racial discrimination and increased BMI strengthened with increasing years in the U.S. The results suggest that the relationship between racial discrimination and obesity is important when considering the mechanisms by which discrimination is association with poor health outcomes among Asian Americans.