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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Chunling Wang, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland at College Park, 0112 Skinner Building, College Park, MD 20742, 240-603-7379, chunling@umd.edu and Nadine Sahyoun, PhD, RD, University of Maryland, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, 0112 Skinner Hall, College Park, MD 20742.

Globalization is not just about economies; it is also about changes in lifestyles and dietary patterns in both developing and developed countries. This cross-cultural study explored the differences in dietary intake patterns of Chinese people in China and in the U.S. as a potential consequence of rapid economic growth in China and level of acculturation in the U.S. A self-administrated web based survey was conducted with 922 adults among 4 groups of Chinese employees working in high-tech industries, excluded biotech industry. Two of these groups are in the U.S. and include Chinese -born immigrants and American-born Chinese. Two control groups in China: employees of Chinese companies and employees of American companies in China. All subjects had at least a bachelor degree and lived in metropolitan areas. Dietary intakes were assessed using an online Food Frequency Questionnaire created for this study. Nutritional knowledge, attitude and dietary self-efficacy were assessed using dietary fat as indicator. Acculturation level was measured in Chinese immigrants. The results showed that Chinese born male immigrants had the lowest BMI and percentage of overweight individuals among the 4 male groups, while American born Chinese women had the highest BMI and percentage of overweight individuals among the 4 groups of female subjects. The mean age of overweight Chinese men was 32-y in China and it was significantly younger than the mean age of overweight Chinese men in the U.S. Chinese working in China ate meals away from home 3 times more frequently than Chinese in the US, and the frequency of eating away from home was significantly associated with BMI both in China and U.S. The average percentage of energy from fat of Chinese people in China was 34.4%, which exceeded that of the general population in China. Energy consumed from fat was statistically higher among American born Chinese than among the 3 other groups. The four groups were significantly different in nutritional knowledge, attitude and self-efficacy. Knowledge and attitude were not significantly related to BMI, but dietary self-efficacy was significantly associated with BMI. The ongoing research will investigate how acculturation level, nutritional knowledge, attitude and self-efficacy influence one's dietary intake. This research will contribute to future tailored public health education in cross-cultural population.

Learning Objectives:

• § Describe how to develop FFQ and questionnaires of knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy and acculturation on the web
• § Introduce how to conduct the web-based survey among working professionals in high-tech industries
• § Discuss the interrelationship among knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy and dietary behavior in a cross-cultural Chinese population.

Keywords: Dietary Assessment, Immigrants

Related Web page: www.ienutrition.com/index_e.htm

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No