Professional Development Meeting Report

Domain: Clinical

On Friday, October 20, 2017, Dr. Doreen Liou, EdD, RDN an Associate Professor of Nutrition from Montclair State University (NJ) presented her research in a talk titled, “Dietary Beliefs & Obesity Prevention Behaviors of Chinese Americans on the East & West Coasts”.  This meeting was sponsored by the Asian American & Asian Research Institute, City University of New York and was held at their office located on 25 W 43rd St New York, NY.

Dr. Liou presented her research regarding the comparison of dietary beliefs and obesity prevention behaviors of Chinese Americans in Los Angeles and New York/New Jersey.  She shared the main findings of her study which showed that Chinese Americans surveyed from Los Angeles had 8 statistically significant behaviors with regards to obesity prevention behaviors such as consuming more steamed foods, healthier snacks, 2 serving of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, limiting consumption of high calorie beverages, performing leisure activities, and exercising.  Dr. Liou’s research also showed that an individual’s self-efficacy and attitude were the significant predictors of performing any one of the behaviors measured by Dr. Liou’s survey.  On the other hand, Chinese Americans surveyed from New York/New Jersey did not present as many obesity prevention behaviors.  The top three barriers measured for individuals from NY/NJ that prevented them from performing these behaviors were lack of time, inconvenience, and cost.  Dr. Liou concluded that Chinese Americans from Los Angeles practiced higher obesity prevention behaviors compared to those who resided in NY/NJ.

Dr. Liou presented her research in an unbiased manner.  She provided a great overview of the history of obesity and how Asian Americans have the lowest incidence of obesity compared to other races.  She presented her research methods in a clear manner and she also showed all the attendees her survey instrument.  She discussed that her study was nowhere near perfect since she had to use a convenience sample which do not make her findings generalizable to all of the Chinese American population in the United States.  The presenter also acknowledged that by using a survey as her instrument there is potential for bias since individuals could either overreport or underreport their answers.  I think that Dr. Liou was very fair in her critiques of her own research.

Dr. Liou’s presented her research in a manner that was easy to understand.  She incorporated pictures and provided the audience with her survey instrument.  The PowerPoint presentation was clear and concise.  However, there were some things that I would do differently.  For instance, I would use audio or videos to either provide a background explanation about obesity or to show the different locations where the surveys were distributed.  I would also have served refreshments (fruit platter, tea, water, or other healthy snack options popular with Chinese Americans) during the meeting in order for the attendees to visualize what healthy snack options they could be consuming.

I thought that Dr. Liou successfully achieved the objectives she stated in the beginning of her presentation.  She shared her purpose of conducting the study, her methods, and ultimately her results.  She also clearly stated her study’s limitations and her intended goals if she were to conduct this research again in the future.  Though the study may not be generalizable to the Chinese American population in the United States, this presentation still provided a great deal of information regarding the different preventative measures practiced by Chinese Americans in the East and West Coasts.

Applies to:

CRDN 1.4: Evaluate emerging research for application in nutrition and dietetics practice

CRDN 1.6: Incorporate critical-thinking skills in overall practice

CRDN 2.2: Demonstrate professional writing skills in preparing professional communications

CRDN 2.9: Participate in professional and community organizations