title: Residential Segregation and Overweight/Obesity Among African-American Adults: A Critical Review.
abstract: The relationship between residential segregation and overweight/obesity among African-American adults remains unclear. Elucidating that relationship is relevant to efforts to prevent and to reduce racial disparities in obesity. This article provides a critical review of the 11 empirical studies of segregation and overweight/obesity among African-American adults. Results revealed that most studies did not use a valid measure of segregation, many did not use a valid measure of overweight/obesity, and many did not control for neighborhood poverty. Only four (36% of the) studies used valid measures of both segregation and overweight/obesity and also controlled for area-poverty. Those four studies suggest that segregation contributes to overweight and obesity among African-American adults, but that conclusion cannot be drawn with certainty in light of the considerable methodologic problems in this area of research. Suggestions for improving research on this topic are provided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC , USA.
authors.forename: Irma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Corral
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Disparities, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC , USA.
authors.forename: Hope
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Landrine
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC , USA.
authors.forename: Marla B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Disparities, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC , USA.
authors.forename: Jukelia J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bess
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Disparities, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC , USA.
authors.forename: Kevin R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Disparities, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC , USA.
authors.forename: Jimmy T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Efird
keywords: African-Americans; Blacks; obesity; overweight; residential segregation