Faithful five: exploring African American faith leaders' perspectives on factors affecting childhood obesity.

This study used a community-based participatory research tool called photovoice to understand African American faith leaders' perspectives on the factors that influence childhood obesity in their communities. Five African American women, who self-identified as faith leaders, took photographs and discussed photographs and emergent themes in 5 meetings. Qualitative analysis involved identifying recurring themes from the transcriptions of the photograph discussions, as well as the photographs themselves. The results suggest that the cycle of stress related to family responsibilities influences childhood obesity in this community. The implications for further research and public health practice are discussed.