Cigarette smoking, binge drinking, physical activity, and diet in 138 Asian American and Pacific Islander community college students in Brooklyn, New York

Assessment of cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and diet in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has been neglected. A questionnaire was used to investigate these health risk behaviors in 466 students at an urban community college and results for the 138 AAPI study participants were compared to the 328 non-Asians. Results for AAPI study participants showed that twenty percent (20.3%) were current cigarette smokers and 7.7% smoked eleven or more cigarettes per day. Ten percent (10.7%) reported binge drinking on one to two days per month and 17.3% reported binge drinking on three or more days per month. With regard to physical activity, 28.8% participated in stretching, 23.6% in strength and toning, 29.4% in moderate exercise, and 25.4% in vigorous exercise. Results indicated that on the day preceding the survey, only 11.9% consumed five or more servings of fruits and vegetables, 88.4% ate no more than two servings of high-fat foods, and 37.6% consumed tofu, soymilk, or other soy food. AAPI study participants were more likely to frequently binge drink (p < .05), less likely to participate in strength and toning exercises (p < .05), and more likely to consume soy foods daily (p < .01) than non-Asian study participants. Recommendations are presented for health promotion program planning.