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A study of a culturally enhanced EatRight dietary intervention in a predominately African American workplace
Jamy D Ard1, Tiffany L Cox, Christie Zunker
1Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 318 Webb Bldg, 1530 3rd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA. ardj@uab.edu
Context:
The workplace may be an ideal venue for engaging African American women in behavioral interventions for weight reduction.
Objective:
To examine the effectiveness of a culturally enhanced EatRight dietary intervention among a group of predominately African American women in a workplace setting.
Design:
Crossover design study.
Setting:
Workplace.
Participants:
A total of 39 women volunteered for this study, of whom 27 completed it.
Intervention:
The control period involved observation of participants for 22 weeks after receiving standard counseling on lifestyle methods to achieve a healthy weight; following the control period, participants crossed over to the 22-week intervention period. The intervention was culturally enhanced using feedback derived from formative assessment and delivered as 15 group sessions.
Main Outcome Measures:
The primary outcome measure was the difference in weight change between the control and intervention periods; changes in waist circumference and quality of life were secondary outcomes.
Results:
Most participants were obese, with a mean baseline body mass index of 36 kg/m², weight of 97.9 kg, and waist circumference of 111 cm. Weight increased during the control period by 0.7 kg but decreased by 2.6 kg during the intervention (net difference = -3.4 kg, P <.001), with 30% of participants losing 5% or more of body weight. Compared to the control period, there was a significant decrease in waist circumference (-3.6 cm, P =.006) and improvement in weight-related quality of life (5.7, P =.03).
Conclusions:
This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of a culturally enhanced behavioral weight loss intervention in a predominately African American workplace setting. The workplace may be conducive for targeting African American women who are disproportionately affected by obesity.
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