Impacts of Long-term Obesity on the Health Status of Samoan and Tongan Men in the United States: Results from the Pacific Islander Health Study

Abstract

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To examine the impacts of long-standing obesity (BMIs ≥ 30.0 kg/m2) on health outcomes among Samoan and Tongan men (aged ≥ 18 years) in California using a life course perspective.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Cross-sectional analysis of 103 males from the Pacific Islander Health Study (PIHS), a probability sample modeled after the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>Urban residential neighborhoods in San Mateo and Los Angeles counties using a multistage, cluster sample design.</p><p><strong>Main Outcome Measures: </strong>BMI, diabetes, hypertension, total cholesterol, smoking, drinking, arthritis, gout and migraines.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Bivariate analysis shows high rates of poor health outcomes distributed throughout the obese and non-obese sam­ple. Logistic analysis finds that being obese does not significantly increase observed negative health outcomes. After controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, the presence of obesity results in non-significant findings for hypertension (OR=1.02; CI: .21, 4.91), and high cholesterol (OR=.52; CI: .10, 2.73), while obesity significantly reduces the risk of diabetes by 60% (OR=.40; CI: .14, 1.17). When applying disease counts, obese men have a signifi­cantly lower risk of reporting multiple health conditions (OR=.72; CI: .52, 1.00).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Overall, the health of Samoan and Tongan males in California is uniformly poor and obesity alone does not significant­ly increase risks of poor health outcomes. Using a life course perspective, the analysis offers new insights on the basic health of this understudied population. <em>Ethn Dis. </em>2015;25(3):279-286.</p>