​Summary: Child obesity is understudied in Asian Americans, which include a growing population of recent immigrants. The authors examined the relationship between maternal nativity and time in the U.S., and obesity and obesogenic behaviors among Asian American children. The authors analyzed public-use data from the 2013–2016 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) for Asian American children ages 2 to 11 years. The authors used logistic regression to determine the odds of obesity and obesogenic behaviors associated with maternal nativity and time in the U.S.

Findings Asian American children with recent immigrant mothers are more likely to be obese and eat less fruit than children with U.S.-born mothers. Efforts to prevent obesity and increase fruit consumption are particularly important for this vulnerable population of children of recent immigrants.