Community Based Obesity Prevention Among Black Women
Community Based Obesity Prevention Among Black Women
This study will evaluate the efficacy of a behavioral intervention, designed to prevent
 weight gain among overweight and low obese (25-34.9 kg/m2) Black women (aged 25-44), compared
 to usual care.
Obesity prevention among Black women is a major public health priority; presently, nearly 54%
 of the adult Black female population is obese. To date, most intervention attention has been
 focused on weight reduction among the overweight and obese. However, both conditions are
 notoriously recalcitrant to treatment, particularly among Blacks. We posit that obesity
 prevention might represent a particularly effective intervention strategy for overweight
 Black women. Most studies have shown that Black women have a greater social acceptance of
 overweight, less body weight dissatisfaction, and higher ideal body weights, compared to
 Whites. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that obesity is less lethal and causes fewer
 co-morbidities among Black vs. White women, suggesting that maintaining overweight may be an
 appropriate public health goal for Black women. We posit that an intervention approach that
 emphasizes maintaining overweight, while preventing the transition to obesity will resonate
 among the target population. Very few obesity prevention RCTs appear in the published
 literature and, to our knowledge, none have been conducted solely among Black women.

 We propose to randomize overweight, Black women (n=184) to either usual care (UC) or an
 obesity prevention (OP) intervention condition. The OP condition is comprised of several
 intervention components that will be delivered over 12 months; each participant will receive
 a tailored action plan, tailored print materials, monthly coaching calls, and weekly
 self-monitoring via an interactive voice response system. Assessments will be taken at
 baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months post baseline.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  African-American

 -  Female

 -  Ages 25-44

 -  BMI between 25-34.9 kg/m2

 -  Patients with at least 1 visit in the previous 24 months to a participating Community
 Health Center

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Not currently pregnant

 -  Not given birth within the past 12 months

 -  No history of myocardial infarction or stroke in last 2 years