Obesity Status and Body Satisfaction of African American College Women

1
Obesity Status and Body Satisfaction of African
American College Women

• Delores C. S. James, PhD, RD, LD, FASHA
• Associate Professor
• Jennifer R. Bonds
• Undergraduate Researcher
• University of Florida Gainesville, FL

2
Obesity Prevalence

• Obesity has doubled among American adults since
  1980
• African Americans have higher rates of obesity
  and weight related diseases
• African American women have a higher rate of
  overweight and obesity than African American men

3
Obesity Prevalence

• In 1999, the greatest increase was among young
  adults ages 18 to 29
• In 1997, one in five college students was
  overweight
• One third of African American college students
  were overweight in 1995
• African American female students were more likely
  to be overweight than their White and Hispanic
  counterparts

4
Goals

• To assess obesity status and body satisfaction
  among African American college females
• To examine differences in these variables between
  a predominately white university and a
  historically black college and university (HBCU)

5
Methods and Procedures

• Convenient sample
• 402 undergraduate women of African descent
• Two public universities in Florida
• University of Florida
• Florida AM University (HBCU)
• Self-administered survey
• IRB approval from both campuses
• Recruited from sororities, campus organizations,
  and various places frequented by students
• Students received a cup as an incentive

6
School Characteristics

• UF
• 48,765 students
• 7.4 African American/Black
• FAMU
• 13, 067 students
• 93.4 African American/Black
• Both schools offer doctoral program

7
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs)

• 135 typically small undergraduate institutions
• Produce 40 percent of this countrys Black
  graduates
• Most located in the South

8
Demographics

• The mean age was 20.42 2.17, with students at
  the FAMU (20.922.56) slightly older than those
  at the UF (19.941.55) (plt.0001).
• 31were seniors, 35 were juniors, 26 were
  sophomores, and 7 were freshmen.
• Significantly more seniors at the FAMU and
  significantly more freshmen and sophomores at the
  UF (plt.0001).

9
Demographics
UF FAMU
Age 19.941.55 20.922.56
GPA 3.140.43 2.990.47
Hrs Worked 16.188.33 24.909.77
Organizations 2.821.92 1.891.92
p lt.05 p lt.0001
10
Academic Classification by School
11
Housing

• 55 off-campus apartments with roommates
• 26 lived in the dorms
• 13 lived alone in off-campus apartments
• 6 lived at home with relatives.
• Students at the FAMU were significantly more
  likely to live at home with relatives, live alone
  off campus, and live with roommates off campus,
  while students at the UF were significantly more
  likely to live in the dorms (plt.0001).

12
Housing by School
13
Weight Status in College

• 51 gained weight
• 24 lost weight
• 26 stayed the same
• Students at FAMU were (significantly) more likely
  to report weight gain in college (plt.01)

14
BMI

• BMI were calculated based on self-reported weight
  and height
• Everyone 25.245.56 (overweight)
• FAMU 25.626.00 (overweight)
• UF 24.895.10 (normal, high end)
• There was no significant difference between
  schools on BMI

15
BMI Classification of Respondents

• BMI Class
• 56 Healthy 18.5-24.9
• 25 Overweight 25-29.9
• 17 Obese 30
• 2 Underweight lt18.5

16
BMI by Academic Classification

• BMI varied significantly by Academic Class
• Freshmen 26.031.13 (overweight)
• Sophomores 24.194.72 (normal)
• Juniors 24.974.63 (normal/over)
• Seniors 26.20 6.70 (overweight)
• Sophomores (24.19 4.72) had significantly lower
  BMI than seniors (26.20 6.70), plt.05. There were
  no significant differences in BMI between any
  other classificationsfreshmen (26.03 1.13),
  juniors (24.97 4.63), pgt.05.

17
BMI by Academic Classification
18
BMI by Housing

• BMI varied significantly by Housing
• At home 27.838.20 (overweight)
• Apt, alone 27.7196.56 (overweight)
• Apt, others 24.624.76 (normal, high end)
• On campus 24.614.96 (normal, high end)
• plt.0001

19
BMI by Housing
20
Weight Perception

• BMI varied significantly by weight perception
• Respondents described their weight based on five
  categories
• Underweight
• Just right
• Slightly overweight
• Very overweight
• Extremely overweight
• No significant difference by school

21
BMI by Weight Perception
22
BMI and Weight Satisfaction

• Respondents also were asked to rate their level
  of satisfaction with their weight.
• 37 were satisfied/very satisfied with their
  weight, 36 were somewhat satisfied, and 27 were
  dissatisfied/very dissatisfied with their weight.
  
• Weight satisfaction did not vary by school
  (pgt.05).
• However, ANOVA revealed that BMI varied
  significantly by weight satisfaction (plt.0001).
• Those who were dissatisfied were in the
  overweight or obese category and those who were
  satisfied were in the healthy range

23
BMI by Weight Satisfaction
24
Thoughts about Weight

• Respondents were asked how often they thought
  about their weight.
• 13 a few times a day
• 38 almost everyday
• 27 a few times a month
• 22 rarely/never think
• There was no significant difference by school
  (pgt.05).
• However, ANOVA revealed that BMI varied by
  thoughts about weight (plt.0001).

25
BMI by Thoughts of Weight
26
Thoughts about Weight

• Multiple post-hoc comparisons revealed higher BMI
  for students who thought about their weight BMI
  27.946.32 Few times/day (overweight)
• BMI 26.955.99 Almost daily (overweight)
• BMI 23.873.73 Few times a month (normal)
• BMI 22.183.73 Rarely/never (normal)
• In fact, it showed that those who thought about
  their weight often were in the BMI overweight
  category and those who did not think about their
  weight very often were in the healthy BMI
  category.

27
Conclusion

• This study found few significant differences in
  weight status and body satisfaction between
  African American college females attending a HBCU
  and a PWU.
• Differences were due mainly to the demographic
  characteristics of the samples, particularly
  housing location.

28
Conclusion

• Mean BMI for participants was 25.245.56, thus
  classifying them as being overweight.
• However, further analysis by BMI category showed
  the majority (55) had BMI in the healthy range.
  But, 25 of the respondent could be classified as
  overweight and 17 could be classified as obese
• 27 were very dissatisfied/dissatisfied and this
  was correlated with high BMI

29
Implications for College Health

• Consider the housing arrangements, i.e. whether
  the off-campus students live alone, at home with
  relatives, or with roommates.
• Need to specifically target students who live off
  campus

30
Implications for College Health

• Weight management programs should focus on
  maintaining a healthy weight throughout the
  entire college career, not just during the
  freshmen year.

31
Study Limitations

• Convenient sample
• Self-selection bias
• Self reported weight and height
• BMI was used as the sole measure to classify
  participants weight
• Small sample size. Larger sample may have found
  more differences between schools