Canadians of Asian descent in the Vancouver area are more likely to carry fat around their middle, making them more prone to obesity-related heart disease and adult-onset diabetes, new research suggests.

Of the 800 people examined over three years by Simon Fraser University researchers, overweight Chinese and South Asian Canadians tended to store fat around the waists more than First Nation or European Canadians.

Overweight Chinese and South Asian Canadians tended to store fat around the waists putting them at greater risk of obesity-related heart disease, new research indicates.
(CBC)

"What I specifically wanted to look at is, was there any difference in the amount of fat, inner abdominal fat that sits around the organs among these groups," said Scott Lear, an SFU kinesiology professor.

Inner abdominal fat cells, called visceral fat, have a different structure than fat cells in other parts of the body, and make people more prone to obesity-related diseases, Lear told CBC News on Wednesday.

"I guess the biggest thing for individuals to be aware of is the notion that because you're not as big as European or white people then you must be healthier is probably a misperception," he said.

Immigrants often arrive healthy, but find it difficult to stay that way, Lear said.

"People from those countries face challenges that even if they were eating healthy and physically active in their native countries, coming here is such a dramatic transition," he said.

"They might not be able to get the local foods that they want. The weather is quite a bit different so that activities that they might do outdoors aren't available here."

Lear said doctors often measure waist size for obesity according to Caucasian measurements, so there should be smaller targets for the Asian population.