title: Assessing the Stages of Change Among African American Women in a Weight Management Program.
abstract: The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between stage of change (SOC) and behavioral outcomes among African American women entering obesity treatment in two settings. Fifty-five overweight/obese (body mass index = 26.50-48.13), but otherwise healthy African American women, 23 to 56 years old, attended a 13-week weight loss-treatment program that took place at churches (n= 36) or a university (n= 19). Participants were weighed, completed SOC measures, and had a physical fitness test at pre- and posttreatment. Pretreatment measures of SOC placed 47% of the participants as actors, 31% as contemplators, and 22% as maintainers. Of the 45 women who reported posttreatment SOC, 7% regressed, 44% did not change, and 31% progressed in SOC. Pretreatment SOC predicted posttreatment weight loss in the church setting but not in the university setting. At churches, contemplators lost more weight than actors and maintainers. The church may be a more conducive setting for weight change behaviors for African American women who are categorized as contemplators in the SOC model.
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sbrocco
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Osborn
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Chiao-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.affiliation: American University, Washington, D.C., USA.
authors.forename: Michele M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Carter
keywords: African American women; obesity; stages of change; weight loss