Dr. Doreen Liou gave a talk on determinants of fat-related dietary behavior in Chinese Americans at the Asian American/Asian Research Institute in New York Friday October 31. The lecture was based on her survey. According to Liou, heart disease is the leading cause of mortality for all Asian/Pacific Islander American groups in the United States. Epidemiological studies and mortality data provide evidence to support the growing concern about heart disease and its risk factors in Chinese Americans The survey was to determine the usefulness of variables from psychological models of health behavior in explaining fat=-related dietary behaviors among a sample of first and second generation Chinese Americans living in New York City.
A survey que4stionnaire was administered to a sample of 743 healthy, U.S.- and foreign-born Chinese Americans, ranging from ages 21 to 73 whin a mean age of 56 years. L total of 446 female and 297 male adults completed the survey instrument, accounted for approximately 60% and 40% of the sample, respectively. As a whole, females consistently scored higher on dietary fat reduction behaviors than their male counterparts. Nutrition educators need to acknowledge the importance of psycho social and demographic factors as mediating variables for the adoption of fact reduction behaviors in Chinese American.
Dr. Doreen Liou, Ed.D. from Columbia University, is currently assistant professor at Montclair State University in the Department of Human Ecology where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in nutrition education, research, and food-related courses.