Several COPT fellows attended Obesity Week 2016, the Annual Meeting of the Obesity Society, in New Orleans, Louisiana from October 31 – November 4, 2016. Each student gave us a recap and reflection on their experience. We will be featuring one student per post as part of this series.
Brittany, on the left, with Dr. Katherine Balantekin at the Obesity Week Welcome Reception at Mardi Gras World.
Brittany James
Q: What was the title of your poster/talk?
- My poster was titled “A concise alternative to the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire relates to weight change over 1 year”.
Q: What were the main points of your presentation about?
- My poster focused on comparing the efficacy of two eating behavior questionnaires in identifying eating behaviors that relate to long-term weight change. Primarily, we found that both the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire and the newer, more concise Weight-Related Eating Questionnaire measure facets of dietary restraint and disinhibition that are associated with weight change over time. Frequent repeat measurement allowed these associations to be studied.
Q:What was something you learned while at Obesity Week?
- My biggest takeaway from TOS was learning how our current research findings fit within the issues at the forefront of discussion this year at Obesity Week. It was great to see how well the research questions we’ve been working on contribute to hot topic questions in the field, such as understanding more about what predicts how well someone will do in obesity treatment.
- Obesity Week is also always a great networking opportunity, though it takes a good amount of preparation beforehand to make it work successfully. It’s such a big conference that if 1-on-1 meeting plans aren’t made ahead of time, it’s possible to miss someone completely. So while it is a good conference that I recommend, it will be an even more rewarding time if it’s planned for ahead of time.