We examined trends in adult obesity and overweight prevalence among major Asian/Pacific Islander (API) subgroups and the non-Hispanic whites from 1992 to 2011. Using 1992–2011 National Health Interview Surveys, obesity, overweight, and BMI differentials were analyzed by logistic, linear, and log-linear regression. Between 1992 and 2011, obesity prevalence doubled for the Chinese, the Asian Indians, the Japanese, and the Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders; and tripled for the Filipinos. Obesity prevalence among API adults tripled from 3.7% in 1992 to 13.3% in 2010, and overweight prevalence doubled from 23.2% to 43.1%. Immigrants in each API subgroup had lower prevalence than their US-born counterparts, with immigrants’ obesity and overweight risks increasing with increasing duration of residence. During 2006–2011, obesity prevalence ranged from 3.3% for Chinese immigrants to 22.3% for the US-born Filipinos and 41.1% for the Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders. The Asian Indians, the Filipinos, and the Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders had, respectively, 3.1, 3.8, and 10.9 times higher odds of obesity than those of the Chinese adults. Compared with Chinese immigrants, the adjusted odds of obesity were 3.5–4.6 times higher for the US-born Chinese and the foreign-born Filipinos, 9 times higher for the US-born Filipinos and whites, 3.8–5.5 times higher for the US-born and foreign-born Asian Indians, and 21.9 times higher for the Native Hawaiians. Substantial ethnic heterogeneity and rising prevalence underscore the need for increased monitoring of obesity and obesity-related risk factors among API subgroups. 1. Introduction Adult obesity rates have increased dramatically in the United States, with the prevalence having risen more than twofold during the past 35 years [1]. Marked increases in obesity prevalence have occurred among both males and females and across all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups [1–3]. Due to high prevalence, a rapidly increasing trend, large racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities, and an unfavorable international ranking, current obesity levels in both children and adults are seen as a major public health problem in the USA [1–5]. While trend and current data on obesity for US adults are routinely available for such major racial/ethnic groups as the whites, the blacks, and the Hispanics [1, 6], prevalence estimates for specific Asian/Pacific Islander (API) subgroups are less well analyzed, particularly temporal obesity patterns among them [2]. Only a few studies have examined obesity differentials among APIs at the national level [2,
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