Progress 07/01/02 to 06/30/07
Outputs
Previous reports described our preliminary analyses, where a cursory inspection of the diet records suggested that the participants had acceptable diets with predictable areas for improvement. Unfortunately, the computer program that was to be used to calculate nutrient composition from the Food Frequency Questionnaires was no longer available for our use, as the developer of the program informed us that her software was destroyed. Efforts to create our own analytical program produced inconsistent results, so we abandoned our dietary analyses. For the sample of 376 Korean Americans (145 men, M age 36.1, 231 women, M age 35.0), we found that 35.5% of the men were overweight or obese as based on BMI, with only 9.4 of the women in those categories. Men who were more American-acculturated (Acculturation Rating Scale) reported more frequent vigorous activity. In contrast, women more strongly Korean-acculturated (Bidimensional Acculturation Scale) reported more frequent
moderate activity.
Impacts
The preliminary results suggested that the Korean men and women of this study, who lived about half of their lives in the US, are similar to most Americas, as their diets seemed to reflect low consumption of calcium and iron and high intakes of sodium. Their rates of overweight are far lower than the general populace, though rates for the men were not ideal. Although sex differences were shown for level of activity by cultural identification, this finding was based on two different acculturation scales, suggesting that more research is warranted on scale use, regardless of the ethnic sample of interest.
Publications
- Lee, S.K., & Cheng, Y.-Y. (2006). Reaching Asian-Americans: Sampling strategies and incentives. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 8(3), 245-250.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
Data have been checked for any possible entry errors, and any entry errors found were corrected. The data were also checked for inter-personal variances to ensure that there was no systemic measurement bias from certain interviewers. Data were entered with two different entry programs because of different data characteristics, which resulted in two different data structures. Dietary data had to be heavily modified. The data structures were modified to be merged together. This will allow linking different variables such as acculturation, diet, physical activity, and body weight. Another step of check was conducted to determine if data of a participant from one file were correctly matched to the data of the person from the other file. With the cleaned up and merged data file, detailed statistical analysis linking variables will be conducted in the years of 2005 and 2006.
Impacts
The preliminary data analysis showed that the participants had acceptable diets with areas to improve. The areas for improvement include low consumption of calcium and iron and high consumption of sodium. Further analyses of the dietary data will show how to improve diets of Korean Americans. Further analysis on body weight in relation to acculturation and health behaviors will reveal 1) the relationships between acculturation and body weight in Korean Americans and 2) who and what should be targeted in health promotion interventions for Korean Americans.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
Data collection was completed with 401 participants. The participants were recruited through ethnic specific venues such as Korean churches. We collected acculturation, body weight, body fat, diet, physical activity, and sociodemographic information. Acculturation and sociodemographic information were collected by self-administered questionnaires. Diet and physical activity information were obtained though a face-to-face interview; body weight and body fat information were collected by direct measurement. Data have been entered into computer files and the files are currently checked for any possible errors. In the meantime, crude preliminary data analysis has been carried out. The results from this analysis were used to write abstracts to present in national conferences and an article for a Korean American newspaper (The Korea Times). More detailed statistical analysis will be conducted in the year of 2004 and 2005.
Impacts
The preliminary data analysis showed that the participants had acceptable diets with areas to improve. The areas for improvement include low consumption of calcium and iron and high consumption of sodium. Further analyses of the dietary data will show how to improve diets of Korean Americans. Further analysis on body weight in relation to acculturation and health behaviors will reveal 1) the relationships between acculturation and body weight in Korean Americans and 2) who and what should be targeted in health promotion interventions for Korean Americans.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
A questionnaire for this project was developed and tested with a group of Korean/Korean American students. The revised questionniare will be used for this project.
Impacts
We expect to identify health behaviors that are important in weight status in Korean Americans. With the findings, we will be able to do design health promotion interventions.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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