# Physical activity in South Asian Youth

> **NIH NIH R03** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $157,531

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
South Asian is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States (US). The striking overweight and
obesity prevalence (78%) among foreign-born South Asian American adults is a public health concern, as it
affects not only their own health, but transgenerational obesity risks for SA American youth. Physical inactivity
among South Asian American adults partly explains their high obesity risk. Despite the potential of elevated
physical inactivity and obesity risks among South Asian American children, few studies evaluated physical
activity and obesity among South Asian American children at a national level. Further, cultural factors, such as
gender norm, among South Asian American families may discourage South Asian female youth to participate
in physical activity. However, US data are lacking to understand how parents’ and child’s cultural factors
influence the child’s physical activity behaviors among South Asian American families. To address these
research gaps, the goals of this R03 project are to evaluate physical activity and body composition of South
Asian American youth and to elucidate their cultural factors associated with physical activity behaviors. This
R03 project proposes to conduct secondary data analyses to achieve two aims. Aim 1 is to evaluate physical
activity and body composition among South Asian American youth using the 2011-Mar2020 National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. This evaluation will be conducted in comparison with other
Asian (i.e., Chinese, Filipino) and racial/ethnic groups (i.e., Black, Hispanic, White). We will apply an innovative
machine learning analytic method to estimate physical activity levels. Aim 2 is to examine the relationships
between South Asian parents’ and daughters’ cultural factors and daughters’ physical activity using the
baseline data of the South Asian Active Together (SAATH) clinical trial. This cost-efficient R03 project will
produce high-impact knowledge, including a national evaluation of physical activity and body composition and
the cultural determinants of physical activity behaviors among South Asian American youth. The outputs of the
project will lay the foundation for designing an intervention for physical activity promotion of South Asian
American youth. This project will also contribute to accelerating the adoption of the innovative machine
learning analytic approach in physical activity research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10984547
- **Project number:** 1R03HD113876-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Soyang Kwon
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $157,531
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-10 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10984547

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10984547, Physical activity in South Asian Youth (1R03HD113876-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10984547. Licensed CC0.

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