Achieving Healthy Weight in African‐American Communities: Research Perspectives and Priorities

Abstract

Achieving healthy weight in African-American communities. Obes Res. 2005;13:2037-2047. The longstanding high burden of obesity in AfricanAmerican women and the more recent, steeper than average rise in obesity prevalence among African-American children constitute a mandate for an increased focus on obesity prevention and treatment research in African-American communities. The African-American Collaborative Obesity Research Network (AACORN) was formed to stimulate and support greater participation in framing and implementing the obesity research agenda by investigators who have both social and cultural grounding in AfricanAmerican life experiences and obesity-related scientific expertise. AACORN's examination of obesity research agenda issues began in 2003 in conjunction with the Think Tank on Enhancing Obesity Research at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The assessment was subsequently expanded to take into account the overall NIH strategic plan for obesity research, literature reviews, and descriptions of ongoing studies. In identifying priorities, AACORN members considered the quality, quantity, focus, and contextual relevance of published research relevant to obesity prevention and treatment in African-American adults or children. Fifteen recommended research priorities are presented in five categories adapted from the NHLBI Think Tank proceedings: health effects, social and environmental context, prevention and treatment, research methods, and research training and funding. These recommendations from an African-American perspective build on and reinforce certain aspects of the NHLBI and overall NIH research agendas by providing more specific rationale and directions on areas for enhancement in the type of research being done or in the conceptualization and implementation of that research.

Sleep Duration and Reported Functional Capacity among Black and White US Adults

“…20 Furthermore, various medical conditions (e.g., obesity, hypertension, diabetes) that are associated with reduced functional capacity are also more prevalent among individuals of the black race/ethnicity. [21][22][23] Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, we assessed whether short and long sleep durations are associated with functional capacity, defi ned as the ability to walk a quarter of a mile without as-…”

New Perspectives on Health Disparities and Obesity Interventions in Youth

“…For example, of the 22 randomized controlled trials reviewed by Whitlock et al (2005), only two focused exclusively on minority youth. However, reviews by Flynn et al (2006) and Kumanyika et al (2005) did focus primarily on underserved (immigrants, low-income) and minority populations and addressed a variety of factors in both youth and adult populations. Previous research has evaluated the effectiveness of obesity interventions among youth and investigators have highlighted the key components of interventions (i.e., diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviors, family, institutions, community) that were effective and the degree to which these components were implemented with fidelity (Doak et al, 2006;Flynn et al, 2006;Stice et al, 2006).…”

Overweight and Obesity in Sexual-Minority Women: Evidence From Population-Based Data

“…37 Because obesity is particularly prevalent in Black and Hispanic women, several interventions have targeted these specific groups. [38][39][40] By comparison, there are no interventions that target sexual-minority women. Whether a need for interventions that specifically target sexual-minority women exists depends on the confirmation that lesbians have a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity compared with other sexual orientation groups.…”