Objective: To assess if the weight loss concerns and dieting strategies used by African American differ by weight status
Design, Setting and Participants: 413 African women completed a self-administered paper survey. Recruitment was done at places such as beauty shops, churches, and sororities.
Outcome Measures and Analysis: BMI, weight loss strategies, weight ideation, and information needed. Data analyses included the Student's t-test, odds ratio and Chi-square.
Results: Mean BMI for the participants was 29.60±7.57. 43% of the participants were classified as obese (BMI ≥ 30), 30% as normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9), 25% as overweight (BMI 25-29.9), and 2% as underweight (BMI <18.5). Sixty-three percent of obese women said they thought about their weight several times a day compared to overweight women (24%), normal weight women (12%), and underweight women (2%). Obese women were significantly more likely to overeat as a result of stress compared to the women in the other BMI categories (p<.0001). Obese women were 1.5 times as likely as overweight women and 2.53 as likely as normal weight women to overeat as a result of stress. Healthy weight loss practices included: cutting back on fried foods, cutting back on sweets, and increasing physical activity. Unhealthy practices included: skipping meals and fasting. Women with higher BMIs were significantly more likely to fast, join a commercial weight loss program, use meal replacement shakes/bars, and use diet pills (p<0.0001).
Conclusions and Implications: Weight control programs and protocols may need to be different for overweight and obese women.