Relationship Between Social Support and Body Mass Index Among Overweight and Obese African American Women in the Rural Deep South, 2011–2013

Abstract

IntroductionAfrican American women in the Deep South of the United States are disproportionately obese, a condition strongly influenced by their social environment. The objective of this study was to characterize the prevalence of social support from family and friends for healthy eating and exercise in rural communities.MethodsThis study is an analysis of a subgroup (N = 195) of overweight and obese African American women from a larger ongoing weight loss trial (N = 409) in rural communities of the Alabama Black Belt and Mississippi Delta. The Social Support and Eating Habits Survey and Social Support and Exercise Survey were used to measure support from family and friends for healthy eating and exercise, respectively. Linear regression was conducted to determine the association between social support factors and body mass index (BMI).ResultsConcurrently prevalent in our sample were encouraging support for healthy eating (family, median,14.0; range, 5.0–25.0; friends, median, 13.0; range 5.0–25.0) and discouraging support for healthy eating (family, median, 12.0; range, 5.0–25.0; friends, median, 11.0; range, 5.0–25.0). Median scores for support for exercise received in the form of participation from family and friends were 24.0 (range 10.0–48.0) and 24.0 (range 10.0–50.0), respectively. The median score for support for exercise in the form of rewards and punishment from family was 3.0 (range, 3.0–11.0). Social support factors were not associated with BMI.ConclusionOverweight and obese African American women in the rural Deep South experience minimal social support from family and friends for healthy eating and exercise. Given the evidence that social support promotes healthy behaviors, additional research on ways to increase support from family and friends is warranted.

Designing Culturally Relevant Physical Activity Programs for African-American Women: A Framework for Intervention Development

“…The organizational structure of many AA religious institutions further support and replicate kinship-like relationships with the metaphoric use of kinship terms among members of the congregation (i.e., the term “father” is frequently used to refer to pastor or church leader, “brother” and “sister” are used to refer to members of the congregation) [17]. Given the emphasis on kinship and social relationships among many AAs, it is not surprising social support has emerged as a key determinant of PA engagement among AA women [36, 40, 48, 75, 89, 90, 92, 94, 91, 111]. …”

Diversity in Quality of Life, Body Mass Index, and Mobility in Rural and Urban Postmenopausal Women

“…[30][31][32] The ability of the person to perform activities depends on his/her body structure and composition, joint and other pains, and working status. 33,34 In our study, it was observed that the physical domain of QoL had a moderate inverse correlation with the BMI in the rural postmenopausal women and a good inverse correlation in urban postmenopausal women. The joint and muscular pain and osteoporosis lead to reduced mobility.…”

Validation of a questionnaire for the evaluation of informal social support for the elderly: section 2.

“…Studies describe how inadequate social conditions are directly associated with indicators of illness or adverse life conditions, and also influence the individual's emotional well-being [7][8][9][10][11][12] . From this perspective, Social Support (SS), especially informal support, plays an important role as a tool to support the health care of people aged 60 years or older 13,14 .…”

“…Informal Social Support (ISS) refers to any support received from a network of those close to the individual, usually consisting of family members, friends or neighbors, and which can involve diverse aspects such as social interaction, support in dayto-day activities, and material and financial support, among others [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] . These aspects can form the latent dimensions of ISS.…”