High Rates of Obesity and Smoking Among Pacific Islanders

In the first ever endeavor that details the health of Pacific Islanders living in the United States, University of Michigan researchers discovered alarmingly high rates of obesity and smoking.

Information was gathered after interviewing a random sample of 239 California households in 2011 and 2012. They were quizzed on a variety of health conditions and behaviors among adults and adolescents in the households.

"This is the first scientific study to assess the health, well-being and health care use of two subgroups of this important population-Samoans and Tongans. Our hope is that this will lead to the development of evidence-based interventions and policies to improve the health of these groups, and also serve as a model for similar studies of other subgroups of this population."



Source: Medindia