Racial/ethnic differences in Body Mass Index: The roles of beliefs about thinness and dietary restriction

Abstract

The greater BMI of African American relative to Caucasian women is implicated in racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes. The principal aim of the current study was to evaluate a theoretical account of racial/ethnic differences in BMI. Thin-ideal internalization, the perceived romantic appeal of thinness, dietary restriction, weight, and height were assessed via self-report measures on a sample of female undergraduates of African American (n = 140) and Caucasian (n = 676) race/ethnicity. Using structural equation modeling, support was obtained for the primary hypothesis that racial/ethnic differences in BMI are explained by Caucasian women's greater thinideal internalization and perceived romantic appeal of thinness, thereby resulting in greater levels of dietary restriction. Current findings illustrate the potential for racial/ethnic differences in sociocultural standards of appearance to influence racial/ethnic disparities in physical health, of which BMI is a marker, via effects on weight control behavior.

Accuracy and usefulness of BMI measures based on self-reported weight and height: findings from the NHANES & NHIS 2001-2006

“…This is not surprising, given the social sensitivity generally associated with body images [10,11,14]. However, the consensus in the literature -- that the use of self-reported BMI measures leads to substantial underestimates of the population proportion who are overweight and obese -- needs some refinement.…”

Accuracy of Self-reported Height, Weight and Body Mass Index in Community Health Survey in South Korea

“…Conversely, compared to non-Hispanic African American and Hispanic women, non-Hispanic white women are more prone to underestimate their weight [4], which may reflect different sensitivities about being overweight [9]. Marital status and income also appear to influence a survey participants' responses to height and weight questions, with single/ never married as well as divorced persons more likely to underreport weight, and high income respondents reporting their weight and height more accurately [8,10]. Finally, there is strong evidence that the actual BMI itself is a predictor of the error in BMI measures based on selfreported height and weight, with underestimates of BMI becoming larger for respondents with higher-end weight and BMI values [11][12][13].…”

Associations among body size dissatisfaction, perceived dietary control, and diet history in African American and European American women

“…Therefore, it is possible that at least part of the ethnic difference in body size dissatisfaction found in the general population may be due to the more extensive dieting history of EA women. Given that, in our study, the influence of dieting history was marginal however, it is likely that other cultural differences, such as the greater acceptance of larger body sizes among AA women (Harris, 1994; Miller et al, 2000; Stevens et al, 1994), and the internalization of the thin-ideal among EA women (Vaughan, Sacco, & Beckstead, 2008), play a greater role in ethnic differences of body size perception than does the differential dieting history.…”

“…This is consistent with previous research showing that AA adolescent females tend to view overeating less negatively and are not as fearful of weight gain as are EA adolescent females (Casper & Offer, 1990). Similarly, given that EA women tend to have greater internalization of the thin-ideal (Vaughan et al, 2008), the EA women in our sample may have had more unrealistic diet control goals than did AA women, resulting in a more harsh perception of dietary control given their weight gain during the follow-up period. Thus, cultural differences in the perception of overeating, and in the interaction between body size satisfaction and weight change, may have contributed to ethnic differences in the change in dietary self-efficacy found following weight loss.…”