Perceptions and Beliefs About Body Size, Weight, and Weight Loss Among Obese African American Women: A Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore perceptions and beliefs about body size, weight, and weight loss among obese African American women in order to form a design of weight loss intervention with this target population. Six focus groups were conducted at a community health clinic. Participants were predominantly middle-aged with a mean Body Mass Index of 40.3 +/- 9.2 kg/m(2). Findings suggest that participants (a) believe that people can be attractive and healthy at larger sizes; (b) still feel dissatisfied with their weight and self-conscious about their bodies; (c) emphasize eating behavior as the primary cause for weight gain; (d) view pregnancy, motherhood, and caregiving as major precursors to weight gain; (e) view health as the most important reason to lose weight; (f) have mixed experiences and expectations for social support for weight loss; and (g) prefer treatments that incorporate long-term lifestyle modification rather than fad diets or medication.

Weight Status Among Somali Immigrants in Sweden in Relation to Sociodemographic Characteristics, Dietary Habits and Physical Activity

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Smoking-related weight control expectancies among African American light smokers enrolled in a smoking cessation trial

“…Although it has long been thought that members of the African American community were protected against unhealthy weight-related behaviors given their acceptance of a larger body size (Flynn & Fitzgibbon, 1998), recent evidence suggests African American women may also experience weight concern (Befort, Thomas, Daley, Rhode, & Ahluwalia, 2006;Johnsen et al, 2002), body dissatisfaction, unhealthy weight loss behaviors, and eating disorders (Gilbert & Warburton, 2003). This recent data may suggest that postcessation weight gain may be a concern and could be a potential barrier to smoking cessation (Pomerleau, Zucker, & Stewart, 2001;Sánchez-Johnsen, 2005).…”

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