Rural African American Women With Severe Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Lifestyle Behaviors and Psychosocial Characteristics.

PURPOSE: To examine differences in lifestyle behavioral and psychosocial factors between rural African American women with Class 3 obesity and those with overweight, and Class 1-2 obesity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Rural Southeastern United States. SUBJECTS: Participants included 289 African American women with a mean age of 56 years, 66% with a high school education or less, and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 38.6 kg/m2; 35% (n = 102) were classified with Class 3 obesity. MEASURES: We objectively measured height, weight, and physical activity steps/day. Self-reported dietary and physical activity behaviors, general health-related quality of life, mental health, and social support were measured with validated surveys. ANALYSIS: Chi-Square analysis for categorical variables and analysis of variance (ANOVA) - via multiple linear regression - for continuous variables. RESULTS: There were no significant demographic differences between BMI groups, except for age, where women with Class 3 obesity were on average younger (51 vs 58 y, P < .001). Although dietary behaviors did not differ significantly between groups, we observed significant group differences in self-reported and objective measures of physical activity. The age-adjusted difference in means for self-reported total physical activity minutes/wk. was 91 minutes, with women categorized with Class 3 obesity reporting significantly fewer weekly minutes than those with overweight/Class 1-2 obesity (64.3 vs 156.4 min/wk. respectively, P < .01). Among psychosocial variables, only in the physical component scores of health-related quality of life did we find significant group differences - lower physical well-being among women with Class 3 obesity compared to those with overweight/Class 1-2 obesity (P = .02). CONCLUSION: For African American women with Class 3 obesity living in rural setting, these findings suggest behavioral weight loss interventions may need to target physical activity strategies that address physical, psychosocial, and environmental barriers.

Motivating Weight Loss Among Black Adults in Relationships: Recommendations for Weight Loss Interventions.

BACKGROUND: Black men and women have the highest rates of obesity in the United States. Behavioral weight loss programs incorporating intimate partners may be effective in combating obesity among this population. Yet, current participation in these programs is low. Identifying motivations and triggers to weight loss may provide insight in designing programs to increase participation. AIM: To determine triggers and motivations for weight loss among Black men and women in committed relationships to inform development of weight loss interventions. METHOD: Twenty semi-structured interviews, based on an integrated theoretical framework of interdependence and communal coping and the social cognitive theory, were conducted among Black heterosexual couples where one or both individuals intentionally lost ≥5% of their body weight in the last 6 months in a metropolitan region in a southern state. Interviews were transcribed and coded. Themes were identified following multi-rater coding and direct and conventional content analysis. Recommendations were developed from emergent themes. RESULTS: Among individuals with recent weight loss, personal relevancy and awareness (health awareness and self-awareness) were identified as personal triggers for weight loss initiation. Health concerns and appearance were general motivations among the total sample. CONCLUSION: Emphasizing the impact of weight on daily functioning and quality of life, and increasing awareness of personal weight status and health consequences, may increase weight loss initiation and participation in weight loss programs among Black men and women in committed relationships. Findings also highlight strategies to improve recruitment and retention and guide intervention development and implementation for this population.

The Black Church and Public Health: A Key Partnership for Theory Driven COVID-19 Recovery Efforts.

The COVID-19 epidemic has negatively impacted the Black community in the United States. Despite current disease mitigation efforts, work is still needed to ensure that Black individuals living in the United States understand their risks regarding COVID-19 infection whether vaccinated or unvaccinated. Thus, the current article posits that the Black church, in concert with public health practitioners, is a venue through which theoretically based health messages should be designed and disseminated regarding COVID-19 recovery efforts. The Health Belief Model and the Harm Reduction approach are posed as theoretical frameworks to facilitate the design of such messages.

Periconceptional Maternal Diet Characterized by High Glycemic Loading Is Associated with Offspring Behavior in NEST.

Maternal periconceptional diets have known associations with proper offspring neurodevelopment. Mechanisms for such associations include improper energy/nutrient balances between mother and fetus, as well as altered offspring epigenetics during development due to maternal nutrient and inflammatory status. Using a comprehensive food frequency questionnaire and assessing offspring temperament with the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (n = 325, mean age = 13.9 months), we sought to test whether a maternal periconceptional diet characterized by high glycemic loading (MGL) would affect offspring temperament using adjusted ordinal regression. After limiting false discovery to 10%, offspring born to mothers in tertile 3 of glycemic loading (referent = tertile 1) were more likely to be in the next tertile of anxiety [OR (95% CI) = 4.51 (1.88-11.07)] and inhibition-related behaviors [OR (95% CI) = 3.42 (1.49-7.96)]. Male offspring were more likely to exhibit impulsive [OR (95% CI) = 5.55 (1.76-18.33)], anxiety [OR (95% CI) = 4.41 (1.33-15.30)], sleep dysregulation [OR (95% CI) = 4.14 (1.34-13.16)], empathy [6.68 (1.95-24.40)], and maladaptive behaviors [OR (95% CI) = 9.86 (2.81-37.18)], while females were more likely to exhibit increased anxiety-related behaviors [OR (95% CI) = 15.02 (3.14-84.27)]. These associations persisted when concurrently modeled with the maternal-Mediterranean dietary pattern. In a subset (n = 142), we also found MGL associated with increased mean methylation of the imprint control region of SGCE/PEG10. In conclusion, these findings highlight the importance of maternal dietary patterns on offspring neurodevelopment, offering avenues for prevention options for mothers.