1. Take 2: A Second Summer of International Study and Domestic Research aimed at
Understanding and Preventing the Obesity Epidemic
Albert Anastasio
ISSSTE Clinic, Merida, Mexico; KIIS program, WKU University; Harvard School of Public Health, Nutrition Department; National Institute of Health;
Centre College; Brown Fellows Foundation
Brief Summary
After last summer spent researching nutrition and the obesity epidemic in the
Latino community (Panama and Philadelphia), I used my Brown Fellows
funds to continue to pursue this passion by shadowing surgeons in Mexico
and working as a research assistant at the Nutrition Department at the
Harvard School of Public Health.
At work in Panama
the Island of Taboga
The Research:
Boston: the Harvard School of Public Health
Merida, Mexico: the ISSSTE clinic
May27th – June30th
To begin my second summer of Brown Fellows enrichment, I flew into the
Cancun airport and traveled to Merida, Mexico. After meeting up with the
other students in the study abroad program, I met my host family and began
shadowing surgeons at the local public clinic (ISSSTE) and taking a class
on Hispanic Civilization and Culture. My experience in the clinic was
extremely formative. While I had initially intended to work directly with a
nutrition expert and spend less time in the operating rooms at the ISSSTE, I
soon realized my time was better spent at the hospital, because I was
allowed to observe surgeries of all types. I saw live births, Csections, laparotomy, cardiac surgery, neuro-surgery, joint replacements of
all kinds, plastic surgery, cancer removal, and even limb
amputation. Within each of these subcategories, I saw multiple different
procedures. Needless to say, I would not have been allowed access in the
same way to view these surgeries in the states as someone with no prior
medical training. Furthermore, the majority of the surgeries had their roots
in problems related to obesity, so I was able to draw connections to my
more specific interest in nutrition and weight management.
July 1st -- August 18th
Arriving in Boston and starting work the very next day at one of the top
public health research facilities in the nation, located on the campus of the
most famous medical school in the world, was intimidating. I used my
past research experiences as assurance that I was not in unfamiliar territory
and I threw myself into the research of Dr. Anne Lusk. From my office in
the Department of Nutrition, I was involved with multiple stages of the
epidemiological, survey based research for which Dr. Walter Willett (the
head of the department) has become the world’s foremost nutrition
expert. The specific project I spent the most time working on was a
project aimed at producing a set of guidelines that could be referred to
when constructing a bicycle path with special emphasis placed on making
the path a welcoming and accessible place for people of all
ages, races, and socio-economic levels. In this way, the project was aimed
at increasing physical activity in the American population.
Dr. Walter Willett’s Nutrition Department
Dr. Walter Willett is one of the top 5 most cited researches in the field of
medical science and he is recognized as the most cited nutrition expert
worldwide. He the department chair of the Nutrition Department at the
Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), which has produced some of the
world’s most talked about and well respected advice regarding food choice
and healthy eating. Through his 20 year cohort studies in which he
surveyed groups of people who share the same profession and general
lifestyle about their food choices, he was able to determine which foods
had a preventative effect on cancer and other life threatening conditions as
well as which foods can prevent obesity and overeating.
The Healthy Eating Pyramid and the
Healthy Eating Plate: two of the
most recognized contributions of the
Nutrition Department at HSPH. The
reasoning behind the images is all
supported by research from the
department.
Dr. Lusk has been conducting an in-depth study of 20 greenways, or shareduse paths, throughout the United States. Ten of these greenways are
considered highly frequented and ten less highly frequented. Her theory
suggests that the highly frequented greenways have multiple destinations a
set distance apart that meet human needs (bathrooms, eateries, views, etc.)
In each of these sets of 10 greenways are 4 greenways that are in lower
income neighborhoods with predominantly minority residents.
The southwest corridor
in Boston. One of the
paths we studied and
my commuter route to
work each day!
Perhaps if greenways have destinations a set distance apart with rewarding
elements, these greenways might increase physical activity. The path users
might be more willing to walk, bike, or skate if they had an ice cream
store, a coffee shop, or a mountain overlook as a goal. This research could
also inform urban planning. If a city is installing networks of bike lanes or
cycle tracks, it might be important to locate eateries, public bathrooms, and
air pumps a set a distance apart just as highways have destinations with
food, bathrooms, and gasoline a set distance apart.
As our research has not yet
been
published,
I
have
borrowed this graph from a
previous publication of Dr.
Lusk’s as an example of the
type of graphs that will be
created to display our results.
In this case, the graph depicts
expansion factors used to adjust
bicycle
counts
for
(a)
month, (b) day, and (c) hour on
research
conducted
to
determine variable crash rates
on certain bicycle paths.
The pyramid
at Chichen Itza
ISSSTE Hospital
In Mexico, I made great friends and learned a tremendous amount of
medical Spanish. In 5 weeks, I felt that if my summer were to come to a
close after Mexico, it would have still been a jam-packed, amazing
experience. However, most of the summer remained, and I flew directly
into Boston and started work the very next day at the Harvard School of
Public Health.
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012
www.PosterPresentations.com
Have you heard eating
almonds is advised because
of their healthy fat content?
It was Dr. Willett who first
recommended them.
Conclusion
Working with Dr. Lusk was an incredible experience, and she and I will be in
contact as the paper goes through its various stages until eventual publication
in a peer reviewed journal. I am looking forward to seeing the stages of
development of a journal article, and am very thankful to Dr. Lusk for
choosing to include me as an author in this publication.