Relatively little is known about what helps increase physical activity in African American men, and even less is known about promoting physical activity among Latino men. This systematic review aimed to address the key questions: (a) what is the state of the evidence on health-related behavior change interventions targeting physical activity among African American or Latino men? and (b) What factors facilitate physical activity for these men? For this review, nine electronic databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed articles published between 2011–2017 that reported interventions to promote physical activity among African American or Latino men. Following PRISMA guidelines, nine articles representing seven studies that met our criteria were identified: six published studies that provided data for African American men, and one published study provided data for Latino men. Consistent with previous reviews, more research is needed to better understand how gender can be incorporated in physical activity interventions for African American and Latino men. Future interventions should explore how being an adult male and a man of color shapes motivations, attitudes, and preferences to be physically active. Studies should consider how race and ethnicity intersect with notions of masculinity, manhood and Machismo to enhance the effectiveness of physical activity interventions for these populations. Despite the health benefits of physical activity, rates of these behaviors remain low among African American and Latino men. It is essential to determine how best to increase the motivation and salience for these men to overcome the obesogenic environments and contexts in which they often live.

Four out of five Black women in the United States, over the age of 20 years, meet criteria for obesity. A critical determinant of pervasive health disparities, such as obesity, may be the Black woman's sociocultural experience. One part of this experience is the stress that results from daily encounters with microaggressions. Research has been limited on the association of race-related stress with maladaptive health behaviors among Black women and at what age this association is visible. The aim of this exploratory cross-sectional study was to investigate whether perceived race-related stress was associated with an obesity risk behavior, emotional eating. One hundred and forty-nine collegiate Black American women from across the United States completed an anonymous online survey during the summer of 2014. Race-related stress was moderately correlated with emotional eating (r = 0.32, p < 0.001). However, a hierarchical linear regression revealed that the relationship between race-related stress and emotional eating remained significant after controlling for weight range and general perceived stress. Race-related stress contributed an additional 3.9 percent of the explained variance for emotional eating. Interventions for weight loss and management targeting young adult Black women must acknowledge how their perceived racial experience is linked to health behaviors and outcomes.

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A poem written in the spirit of Alexis Pauline Gumbs’s “A Spell to Save Your Life”.