The influence of childhood and adolescent environmental exposure to a westernized environment on the relation between body mass index and adiposity in young Asian American women.

BACKGROUND Asians who have a healthy body mass index (BMI) range have been observed to have higher levels of obesity and risk of cardiovascular disease than whites, which suggests that the relation between BMI and adiposity may be different for Asians. OBJECTIVE The primary aim of this study was to investigate the influence of childhood and adolescent exposure to a westernized environment on the relation between BMI and percentage body fat in young Asian American women. DESIGN Secondary data from 129 Asian women, aged 20-25 y, with variable lengths of residence in the United States and 327 white women of comparable ages who had participated in the Latina and Asian Bone Health Study (1999-2000) and the Berkeley Bone Health Study (1998-2000), respectively, were analyzed by using multiple linear regression with percentage body fat as the outcome variable and place of birth, ethnicity, length of US residency, and BMI as predictor variables. RESULTS Asians who lived in the United States <12 y showed the same relation between BMI and percentage body fat as did whites. In contrast, Asians who had lived in the United States ≥12 y had higher percentage body fat than did whites for BMIs (in kg/m(2)) <20.5 and lower percentage body fat for BMIs in the overweight and obese range. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that childhood environments may influence the relation between BMI and adiposity. Research is warranted on the role that childhood environments play in the accumulation and distribution of body fat and hence metabolic disease risk later in life.