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Fat Intake and BMI of Chinese Employed in High‐Tech Industries in China and in the U.S.
Author(s) -
Wang Chunling,
Sahyoun Nadine,
MoserVeillon Phylis
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.a999-a
Subject(s) - overweight , china , body mass index , demography , acculturation , medicine , chinese americans , chinese people , immigration , obesity , gerontology , geography , sociology , archaeology
This cross‐cultural study explores the differences in dietary intake patterns of Chinese people in China and in the US. 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 among 4 groups of Chinese employees (aged 21–44 y, mean 31y) in high‐tech industries. Two of these groups were in the US including Chinese born immigrants (n=395) and American born Chinese (n= 101) and two control groups in China: employees of Chinese companies (n= 232) and employees of American companies (n=194). All subjects had at least a bachelor degree and lived in metropolitan areas. Dietary intakes were assessed by an online Food Frequency Questionnaire created for this study. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated by self reported body weight and height. Results showed that Chinese born male immigrants had the lowest BMI (22.78 kg/m2) and the lowest index (11%) of overweight (BMI>=25) among the 4 male groups (P<0.005), while American born Chinese women had the highest BMI and the highest index of overweight among the 4 groups. The mean age of overweight Chinese men in China was 32 and it was significantly younger than the mean age of overweight Chinese men (36 y) in the US. Chinese in China ate meals away from home 2 times more frequently than Chinese in the US, and the frequency of eating away from home was significantly associated with BMI (r=0.34, p<0.001). Energy consumed from fat was statistically higher among American born Chinese than the other groups (p<0.005). This study revealed that Chinese born immigrants to the US had lower level of BMI and lower level of percentage of energy from fat than the other groups. Future studies should investigate how acculturation level, nutritional knowledge, attitude and self‐efficacy influence one's BMI and dietary intake.