Design, Setting and Participants: 402 African women college females completed a self-administered paper survey. Recruitment was done on various locations on two four-year university campuses.
Outcome Measures and Analysis: BMI, body satisfaction, and weight loss strategies. Data analyses included the Student's t-test, odds ratio and Chi-square.
Results: Based on BMI, 56% of respondents were classified as normal, 25% as overweight, 9% as obese, 7% as extremely obese, and less than 2% as underweight. Thirty-seven percent reported being satisfied/very satisfied with their weight, while 36% said they were somewhat satisfied, and 27% said they were dissatisfied/very dissatisfied with their weight Fifty-eight percent of all respondents said they wanted to lose weight. Those who wanted to lose weight had a significantly higher BMI than those who did not (27.80±5.61 versus 21.68±2.49, p<.0001). Most tried to lose weight by increasing physical activity (80%), decreasing fried foods (74%); decreasing sweets (66%); and meal replacement drinks/bars (53%). Other methods used included weight loss supplements (50%), low-carbohydrate diets (45%), skipping meals (41%), fasting (20%), joining a weight lost program (15%), and eating less meat (15%).
Conclusions and Implications: Implications for weight management programs on college campuses will be discussed.