title: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA. cbefort@kumc.edu
authors.forename: Christie A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Befort
authors.forename: Janet L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Daley
authors.forename: Paula C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Rhode
authors.forename: Jasjit S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ahluwalia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001837:Body Weights and Measures / Q000523:psychology*; D004032:Diet; D017144:Focus Groups; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010465:Perception; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015431:Weight Loss