Weighing parental perspectives

Molly Malone-Prioleau, OMS II, studied how parents viewed their children’s weight for Take Action

By Colleen Kiphart

Molly Malone-Prioleau, OMS II, enters the Front Room Coffee Shop in Ohio University’s Baker Center in a flurry of activity, riding the momentum of her day’s nearly completed “to-do” list. Asked to name her most prominent victory this school year, Malone-Prioleau cites her research poster’s victory at OU-COM’s Research Day in the clinical research category on September 19.

“I’m still sort of surprised it won.” She says, a shy smile spreading across her face.

Her study, “The effects of an eight-week exercise intervention on parents’ perception of children’s body size,” analyzed whether increased exercise and nutrition awareness among Appalachian Ohio parents made a difference in the way they perceive their children’s bodies.

The research was part of OU-COM’s Take Action, a summer intervention study for children 6-17 who are at risk for obesity, and their parents. For the eight-week program, participants attended two hours of exercise sessions and two hours of nutrition education each week.

At the outset, parents and children were each asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding the child’s body size. This was repeated at the end of the eight weeks to see whether exercise and proper nutritional awareness would influence changes in how they thought about their bodies.

Malone-Prioleau found little difference in perceptions of body size after the two months, which she attributes at least in part to the short time span of the study. Despite somewhat static outcomes, Malone-Prioleau—not to mention the Research Day awards committee put together by OU-COM’s Office of Research and Grants—considers the study a success.

“It was so rewarding to get that research experience,” says Malone-Prioleau. “I learned so much about putting together and executing a study of this scale.”

Malone-Prioleau reaped personal benefits, in addition to scholarly experience and the $200 prize from Research Day. “It was great,” she says. “It was a lot of hard work. But I run into the families a lot since then. You developed a relationship with them. You would talk to them while they ran on a treadmill or did other cardio work.”

Perhaps most importantly, she adds, “You see changes in knowledge. I think some found an interest in exercise.”

Malone-Prioleau and her faculty research mentor, assistant professor of family medicine Jay Shubrook, D.O. (’96), are assessing the plausibility of a three-month follow-up project with the study’s participants, which would give them both a better idea of the study’s long-term impact.

Shubrook explains that the idea for the original study grew from parents’ responses. “When I would discuss my concern for the child's weight, often parents would not see their children as above ideal weight despite having a body mass index (BMI) that clearly characterizes them as obese.” When Shubrook spoke to Malone-Prioleau about the discrepancy, he says, “She ran with it.”

Malone-Prioleau, a self-described “child of Appalachia,” knows the importance of getting health resources to this region. Originally from Jackson, Ohio, she obtained her master’s degree in exercise science from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. She says that it has always been important to her to connect with her regional roots and to share her knowledge of medicine and exercise, and research provides an ideal opportunity to assess health needs and challenges in the region.

Malone-Prioleau says that OU-COM promotes medical research among its students early and often. “I remember research being mentioned as early as orientation day,” she says, adding that professors repeatedly noted the educational benefits of research throughout her first year.

When the chance came to participate in a summer research program, Malone-Prioleau jumped at it. She consulted with Shubrook, and they came up with what would become her award-winning study.

“When we decided that I would take part in Take Action, we just sort of batted around different ideas. This grew from that and my interest in exercise and personal health.”

Next fall, Malone-Prioleau starts rotations at her CORE site at Affinity Medical Center in Massillon, Ohio. She is considering a wide variety of specialties, including cardiology, internal medicine and sports medicine. She is currently the treasurer of the Sports Medicine/Surgery Club.

Malone-Prioleau remains upbeat about research, despite the limitations of her first study, “I would do it again,” she says. “Definitely. I would love to expand the study in the future.”