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Level up! Mr Epid is now Dr Epid!

My old lab got me a cake to celebrate!
My old lab got me a cake to celebrate!

I’m back! I took an extended hiatus from the blog while I finished up my PhD, but, at the end of March, I successfully defended my PhD, and after making the changes suggested by the examining committee I submitted in the middle of April and started working. Those of you following along on Twitter will recognize the change in my Twitter handle from @MrEpid to @DrEpid; those of you who know me in real life will have heard me go on about it for the last few months as I prepare. For those wondering, I will eventually change the URL of my blog as well so they all match 🙂

For those unaware of the process, the PhD defence is an oral exam. At Queen’s (the process may differ at other universities), you submit your thesis, and then have to wait (a minimum) of 25 business days for the exam. The exam consists of 4 examiners; an examiner external to your university, one external to your department, one from your department, and the final examiner is your department head (or a department head delegate). You also have a chair from another department from your institution, as well as your supervisors there. After you give a 15-20 minute presentation, the examiners ask their questions. Typically, there are two rounds of questions, after which you leave, and the examiners deliberate. You’re then called back in, and they let you know their decision, and any changes you have to make before submitting your final thesis. My examiners were amazing, and while the questions were tough, they were fair. I actually really enjoyed the discussion I had with my examiners during my defence, and they ranged from the details of my analysis, to the concept of “ethnic identity” and what it actually means in terms of my research.

I want to thank everyone for their support over the past 4 and a bit years. As per prior precedents (Janiszewski, 2010; Saunders, 2013), I will be copy-pasting the acknowledgements section from my thesis below. I’d also like to thank the PLOS Blogs network, especially Victoria Costello for giving me the opportunity to join the network, and Travis and Peter for their support and encouragement when I started blogging. In addition, thank you to my co-authors Beth and Lindsay here who picked up the slack when I took a hiatus this year to focus on finishing up.

Finally, a special thank you to all the readers of the blog. It’s been a privilege to write for you, and it means a lot when you tell me how much you enjoy my work. Thank you, and I’m looking forward to getting back into writing more regularly.

Acknowledgements

I would like to start by thanking my supervisors, Dr. Will Pickett and Dr. Ian Janssen. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from you both, and appreciate your support through my PhD journey. Your honesty, integrity, and willingness to always provide me feedback and support was always appreciated. Will, I look forward to our teams meeting in the playoffs again (hopefully with better results for me this time!)

I would also like to thank those in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology/Public Health Sciences and the Clinical Research Centre for their support, with a special thank you to Lee Watkins and Deb Emerton for their help. Thank you also to the Clinical Research Centre Student Group. Your antics, customized t-shirts, snack breaks, and random dance parties always kept me entertained, and it’s been a pleasure working with all of you. The Thought Tub is richer for having you.

This work would not have been possible without the financial support of Queen’s University, the Ministry of Colleges, Training and Universities Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award.

I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues, especially Anne, Kim, Raymond, Sarah, Alison, Hidé and Marion who have been unwavering in their support over the years. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to Rim, Lydia, Liam, Hoefel, Brian and the Gong Show/Danger Zone family for ensuring that I always get some physical activity, and that yes, I do even lift.

Finally, thank you to my family. Your love, support, guidance, and willingness to listen to me at all times of the day have allowed me to complete this project. Thank you.

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Perceived weight status, actual weight status and weight control

Obesity is accompanied by many health risks, including diabetes, heart disease and musculoskeletal problems. Small decreases in weight have been associated with decreases in the risk of these adverse health outcomes, however, sustained weight loss is incredibly difficult to accomplish.

It has been well documented that people underestimate their height and weight (see my previous post on parental perceptions of child BMI). However, does knowledge of one’s weight affect willingness to start weight control behaviours? How much does your perceived weight differ from your actual weight? And more importantly, can health care professionals affect starting weight control behaviours?

More after the jump.

Continue reading “Perceived weight status, actual weight status and weight control” →

1

Longitudinal associations between biking to school and weight status

When I was your age, I walked 5 miles to school every day! Barefoot! Uphill! Both ways! In the snow!! – PhD Students to undergrads

Active transportation, that is, biking, walking, rollerblading or skateboarding to school, has been shown to be associated with health benefits and increased energy expenditure. This varies from country to country however, with some countries having higher rates of active transportation. The Netherlands and Scandinavian countries have been very committed to ensuring that their cities are easy to navigate, and have made biking an integral part of their city planning and infrastructure (an issue discussed by friend of the blog Megan here).

However, it is unknown whether biking to school can affect BMI status. While cross-sectional studies exist, and show that those who cycle are physically fitter than their peers, you cannot conclude anything about causality or temporality from these studies. So Bere et al. investigated the longitudinal associations between biking to school and weight status among youth.

More after the jump.

Continue reading “Longitudinal associations between biking to school and weight status” →

1

Breakfast Skipping and Change in Body Mass Index in Young Children

Breakfast: The most important meal of the day!

As mothers everywhere know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, as scientists, we want empirical evidence. Breakfast has been associated with several health outcomes, ranging from increased academic performance, to improved quality of life, as well as enhanced dietary profiles.

While many cross-sectional studies have found that those who skip breakfast are more likely to be obese, you cannot infer temporality from this relationship. In order to do that, you need a prospective cohort study, where you follow people forward through time to determine their weight gain.

While there are very few prospective cohort studies investigating breakfast eating habits among youth, even fewer have looked at this in Asian populations. And so Tin et al set out to look at the effect of skipping breakfast on BMI among youth in Hong Kong.

More after the jump.

Continue reading “Breakfast Skipping and Change in Body Mass Index in Young Children” →

0

Parental Perception of Child Weight Status

There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.

– Chinese proverb

Childhood obesity is a growing problem for our society. However, we are still trying to find effective methods of dealing with this public health concern. Some researchers have suggested that family based interventions could be the most effective way to tackle this issue, as parents can help instil healthy behaviours in their children.

However, what if parents don’t realize that their children are overweight or obese? What if they don’t realize that their child is gaining weight at an unhealthy rate?  If they don’t realize that there is a problem, why would they seek help?

A recent systematic review found that less than half of the parents surveyed correctly identified their children as being overweight in 19 of the 23 studies they examined.

So the question then becomes: Do parents only fail to recognize if their own children are overweight or obese, or do they do this for all children? And that is what a recent study by Jones et al, published in the International Journal of Obesity investigated.

More after the jump.

Continue reading “Parental Perception of Child Weight Status” →

3

How effective are interventions aimed at reducing “screen time” among youth?

Increased screen time is a problem among youth

Edit (14/07/11): Thanks to Gopinath for the article!

A common reason people give for the increased prevalence of childhood obesity is how youth spend more time in front of the TV/computer/video games now than they used to (a measure referred to as “screen time”). The average Canadian youth spends 6 hours in front of the TV/computer every weekday, and over 7 hours a day on the weekend (AHKC Report Card, 2011). So that begs the question – how can we reduce screen time?

Several interventions have been performed, and they have shown mixed results. But this could be due to a number of factors: the population they used, the methods they used or even chance. We can identify all the studies that have been done in this area using a systematic review, and then decide if they’re effective using a meta analysis. And that’s exactly what Wahi and colleagues did, in a study published in Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med this July.

More after the jump.

Continue reading “How effective are interventions aimed at reducing “screen time” among youth?” →

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