Journal of Immigrant Health, Vol. 7, No. 2, April 2005 ( C  2005) DOI: 10.1007/s10903-005-2640-x Health Behaviors, Chronic Disease Prevalence and Self-Rated Health of Older Asian Indian Immigrants in the U.S. Satya S. Jonnalagadda 1,3 and Sadhna Diwan 2 The purpose of this study was to examine the correlates of healthy behaviors and self- rated health in middle-aged and older Asian Indian immigrants in the U.S. Asian Indian men (n = 162) and women (n = 64), 50 years of age or older completed a telephone survey which collected information regarding demographics, behavioral risk factors, acculturation, perceived control, quality of social support, depression, body mass index, chronic disease prevalence, and self-rated health. Participants’ average length of residence in the U.S. was 25 years, 52% were normal weight, 41% were vegetarians, 55% incorporated aerobic activity into daily lifestyle, and only 5% smoked. Hypertension and diabetes were most common chronic diseases (31 and 18%, respectively). Younger age, longer length of residence and a bicultural or more American ethnic identity were associated with greater participation in physical activity. Likewise, higher income, a bicultural or more American ethnic identity and depression were associated with higher fat intake. Poor self-rated health was associated with older age, female gender, BMI > 25, satisfaction with social support, and greater number of chronic disease conditions. A multitude of factors influence the practice of healthy behav- iors and the perceived health of Asian Indian immigrants, which should be addressed when developing culturally appropriate health promotion interventions. KEY WORDS: health; physical activity; diet; social support; ethnic identity. INTRODUCTION The extant research on the health of the U.S. population continues to under-represent Asian im- migrants despite the increase in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) group, which comprises 4% of the to- tal U.S. population (1). APIs are expected to number 34 million (9% of the population) by the year 2050 (2). Within the API population, the number of Asian Indians grew from 15,000 in 1965 to over 1.6 million 1 Novartis Medical Nutrition, Research and Development, St. Louis Park, Minnesota 55416. 2 School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637. 3 Correspondence should be directed to Satya S. Jonnalagadda, PhD, RD, Novartis Medical Nutrition, Research and Develop- ment, 1541 Park Place Blvd, St. Louis Park, Minnesota 55416- 1514; e-mail: ssjonna@yahoo.com. in 2000, making them the third largest group among the APIs (2). With the emphasis of Healthy People 2010 on addressing disparities in health within the U.S. population, it is necessary to develop a baseline profile of the health status and health behaviors of the various groups comprising the API population in order to design effective health promotion pro- grams that address the unique needs of each group (3). This study focuses on Asian Indian immigrants, the third largest immigrant group within APIs, as lit- tle research has focused on the health risks of this group of immigrants in the U.S. Research on Asian Indian immigrants in sev- eral western countries, such as U.K. and Canada, has found them to be at greater risk for morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease and diabetes as compared to the native population and other im- migrant groups (4–6). Compared to the Caucasian 75 1096-4045/05/0400-0075/0 C  2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.