Preventing obesity in black women by targeting adolescents: a literature review

Obesity is a critical problem in black women. Black women have been found to have twice the rate of obesity of white women, and the origins of obesity appear to be in adolescence. To date, few obesity prevention and treatment programs have been designed specifically for black female adolescents and black women. In this review, the biopsychosocial factors surrounding obesity in the black female population are discussed, including the significance of body fat distribution for the development of diseases common to the black population, such as diabetes and hypertension; the cultural tolerance for overweight and obesity in black women; and the importance of family and social networks in the dissemination of health information. Programs that stress early intervention during adolescence are identified as having the most potential to make an impact on obesity in black women and, ultimately, to reduce chronic disease. However, such interventions must be sensitive to cultural belief systems and values. The need to eliminate a predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon, ethnocentric viewpoint to prevent and treat obesity in black female adolescents is stressed.