Sociocultural Factors and Regional Variations on Obesity among African Americans
Open Access
- Author:
- Koehl, Alex
- Area of Honors:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Gary King, Thesis Supervisor
Lori Anne Francis, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- African American
Black
Culture
Obesity
Black culture
BRFSS - Abstract:
- The history of food culture among African Americans spans different spaces from the cultural influences of African cuisine, to cooking survival practices during the time of enslavement, to the distinct styles, ingredients, and popular flavors of Soul food today. Food culture contributes to Black adult obesity prevalence. Thus, understanding the role of cultural, environmental, and sociodemographic factors on obesity by the geographic residence of Black adults is important as obesity rises to epidemic levels in the U.S. A weighted sample from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System consisting of 401,958 Black respondents was employed to conduct an analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including measures of central tendency and correlations, and multiple linear regression (MLR) were conducted. The findings revealed that 20% Black or Greater Southern states (β=-0.04), metropolitan status (β=0.03), Stroke Belt states (β=-0.02), and Census region ((β=-0.01) contributed significantly to the variance in BMI for Black adults. However, the MLR model with the greatest explanatory power included only Southern states with a 20% or greater proportion of residents that were Black in 2020. General health, sex, and diabetes were the variables most highly associated with BMI among Black adults. Geography variables provided minimal explanation for the variance in BMI. The variables with the strongest associations with BMI in Black adults related more to sociocultural factors. Black women, when compared to Black men, were more likely to be obese, but their perception of body weight was correlated with self-reported comorbidities.