Table 1. Characteristics of Participants (N = 75) in Qualitative Study on Overweight and Health Among South Asians, Chicago, Illinois, 2006–2007.
| Characteristic | n (%)a |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| Male | 38 (51) |
| Female | 37 (49) |
| Age, y | |
| 20–39 | 29 (39) |
| 40–59 | 29 (39) |
| ≥60 | 17 (23) |
| Education | |
| No high school diploma | 16 (21) |
| High school diploma | 10 (13) |
| At least 1 year of college | 49 (65) |
| Insurance | |
| None | 41 (55) |
| Public aid | 18 (24) |
| Private insurance | 9 (12) |
| Do not knowb | 7 (9) |
| Preferred language for interview | |
| Urdu | 28 (37) |
| Hindi | 24 (32) |
| English | 23 (31) |
| Length of stay in United States, y | |
| ≤10 | 50 (67) |
| >10 | 25 (33) |
| Religion | |
| Muslim | 51 (68) |
| Hindu | 16 (21) |
| Otherc | 8 (11) |
| WHO-defined BMI categories for the general population, kg/m2 | |
| Underweight (<18.5) or normal weight (18.5 to <25.0) | 25 (33) |
| Overweight (25.0 to <30.0) | 30 (40) |
| Obese (≥30.0) | 20 (27) |
| WHO-defined BMI categories for Asian populations, kg/m2 | |
| Underweight (<18.5) or normal weight (18.5 to <23.0) | 11 (15) |
| Overweight (23.0 to <27.5) | 29 (39) |
| Obese (≥27.5) | 35 (47) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; WHO, World Health Organization.
a Percentages may not sum to 100% because of rounding.
b Includes those who did not know whether they had insurance or those who had an insurance card but did not know what it was for.
c Other religions were Sikh and Christian.