Recommendations for nutrition interventions with overweight African-American adolescents and young adults at the Atlanta Job Corps Center

Focus groups were used to gain insight into the nutrition-related attitudes and motivations of overweight African-American adolescents and young adults enrolled in the Atlanta Job Corps Center in preparation for designing an effective and culturally appropriate nutrition intervention for this population. Eighteen students and 18 staff members participated in six different focus groups. Focus group themes suggest that an intervention with this target group should address overeating, proper diet composition, emotional eating, long-term consequences of a poor diet, group work, and incentives. Limiting food portions, offering healthy, appealing food choices, and displaying nutritional content of foods in the cafeteria were also suggested. It was also suggested that the intervention should be ongoing and led by someone who is patient, supportive, and has overcome an overweight problem. An intervention based on these recommendations can be specifically tailored to this target group and, potentially, be effective in changing dietary behaviors and lifestyle.