Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group in New Zealand which means there is a growing need for research into their health, a researcher says. 

The Asian Network Incorporated and the University of Auckland have produced a report to try and fill this gap. 

‘Asian Health in Aotearoa 2024’ compares New Zealand Health Survey data from 2002-2003 to data from 2019-2021 to identify health trends in Asian New Zealanders across a 20-year period. 

More than 17% of New Zealand’s population is of Asian descent and this data refers to them in three groups: Chinese, South Asian and Other Asian. 

Zhenqiang Wu from the University of Auckland is the lead author of the report and says some of the findings surprise him, while others do not. 

Ethnic discrimination is highly prevalent 

Chinese adults are the most likely to have been a victim of an ethnically-motivated verbal attack in New Zealand, with 41% reporting they had been attacked this way at least once. 

After Māori, South Asians were the group most likely to be treated unfairly when applying for a job or renting or buying a house in New Zealand. 

Ethnically motivated attacks have increased between 2011-2012 and 2020-2021 for Chinese and South Asian New Zealanders and no significant improvement has been made to decrease them, which Wu says is concerning for the Asian community. 

He was not surprised by these findings and says he feels the data supports the experiences of Asian New Zealanders. 

Fresh produce consumption is low 

A major concern in the report was that Asians across all three groups consume a low level of fruits and vegetables. 

Wu says these low levels were consistent regardless of age group and gender, and had been decreasing since 2011. 

The amount of fast food Asian children eat has also gone up over this same period. 

The study found South Asian and Other Asian children were more likely to consume takeaway food than European and other children. 

‘Other’ refers to people who do not identify as European, Māori, Pasifika or Asian. 

It also found the proportion of Asian New Zealanders eating fast food more than once a week had increased since 2006, which Wu says surprised him.

He says one possible reason could be that it's culturally very common in Asia to eat takeaway meals as a cheap, convenient and fast form of food, especially in China. 

Obesity has doubled 

Asian adults, along with Māori and Pacific adults, are less physically active and more likely to be sedentary than European adults, the report shows. 

It found obesity has doubled among Asian New Zealanders over the past 20 years. 

The prevalence of obesity went from 26% in 2002-2003 to 53% in 2019-2021 across all three Asian groups. 

This finding surprised Wu the most because of the ‘healthy migrant effect’, where people who are younger, healthier, better educated and financially stable chose to migrate and are eligible to. 

“Usually, because of ‘the healthy migrant effect’, you would consider them to be a reasonably healthy group. But, when you have a look at obesity, it's much higher than for the ‘European and Other’ group,” Wu says.

Tobacco and alcohol consumption is low

Asian adults have the lowest tobacco smoking levels in New Zealand and smoking by both Asian men and women continues to decrease. 

Wu says these findings are also partially related to the ‘healthy migrant effect’. 

Levels of vaping, alcohol and cannabis consumption are the lowest among Asian adults but these have been increasing in recent years. 

Asian adults who drink alcohol are also the least likely to binge drink but the prevalence of hazardous drinking has increased within all three Asian groups since 2002. 

Looking to the future, Wu says more research needs to be done into Asian New Zealanders in general, as well as Asian sub-groups. 

“In most research, Asians are treated as one single, homogeneous group, but ‘Asians’ can be from many countries and are very diverse in culture, religions and many other factors,” Wu says. 

“That diversity usually leads to different health needs and health status. So, we really need some more research to respond to the needs of those diverse groups over time.”

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