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The Diabetes Educator

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Health Education & Behavior
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Article

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

Christie A. Befort, PhD1*, Janet L. Thomas, PhD1, Christine M. Daley, PhD1, Paula C. Rhode, PhD1, Jasjit S. Ahluwalia, MD, MPH, MS2

1 University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City
2 Office of Clinical Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cbefort{at}kumc.edu..


  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/m2. 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.

Key Words: African American, obesity, focus groups

First published on November 29, 2006, doi:10.1177/1090198106290398

Health Education & Behavior 2008;35:410.

A more recent version of this article appeared on June 1, 2008

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