Values and beliefs about obesity and weight reduction among African American and Caucasian women. |
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Authors: | Carol E Blixen Anisha Singh Holly Thacker |
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Institution: | The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, USA. |
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Abstract: | Designing culturally relevant weight-reduction programs requires understanding of ethnic variations and illness beliefs. Preliminary data on the values and beliefs about obesity and weight reduction were obtained from women of different ethnic/racial backgrounds. Purposive sampling was used to recruit African American (AA) and Caucasian (C) women with a body mass index (BMI)>or= 30 from the general internal medicine clinics of a large tertiary care facility. Four focus groups (2 with AA women and 2 with C women) consisting of a total of 20 subjects were conducted in a 2-month period. AA women cited culture specific barriers to weight loss more so than did C women. AA women and C women also differed on how health care professionals could help them with weight loss. These findings have implications for nursing's role in the design of culturally relevant weight-loss programs. |
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