title: Spirituality, Religiosity, and Weight Management Among African American Adolescent Males: The Jackson Heart KIDS Pilot Study.
abstract: Spirituality and religion have been identified as important determinants of health for adults; however, the impact of faith-oriented factors on health behaviors and outcomes among African American adolescent males has not been well studied. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between religiosity and spirituality and obesity-related behaviors among 12-19 year old African American males (N = 105) in the Jackson Heart KIDS Pilot Study. Key variables of interest are church attendance, prayer, daily spirituality, weight status, attempts to lose weight, nutrition, physical activity, and stress. Daily spirituality is associated with whether an individual attempts to lose weight. The results from logistic regression models suggest that daily spirituality increases the odds that African American male adolescents attempt to lose weight (OR = 1.22, CI: 1.07-1.41) and have a history of diet-focused weight management (OR = 1.13, CI: 1.02-1.26). Future studies are needed to further explore the association between religion, spirituality, and obesity-related behaviors.
authors.affiliation: a Center for Research on Men's Health and Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Marino A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.affiliation: b Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities and University of Mississippi Medical Center.
authors.forename: Bettina M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Beech
authors.affiliation: a Center for Research on Men's Health and Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Derek M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.affiliation: c Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions and Bloomberg School of Public Health.
authors.forename: Roland J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thorpe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D002648:Child; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D029181:Spirituality; D015431:Weight Loss; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: African American males, adolescence, obesity, religiosity, spirituality