Spirituality, Religiosity, and Weight Management in Black Women

<p><em><strong>Background</strong></em></p> <p>Obesity is a major concern in the United States and Black Americans are among those with the highest rates of overweight, obesity, and related co- morbidities. While weight loss among Black women has been studied within the context of a faith-based setting, there is little information about the relationship between spirituality, or relationship with the transcendent, and self-efficacy in the achievement and maintenance of a healthy weight.</p> <p><em><strong>Purpose</strong></em></p> <p>The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships among spirituality, self-efficacy for physical activity and healthy eating, and body composition measures among Black women over the period of participation in an existing weight management program.</p> <p><em><strong>Method</strong></em></p> <p>Participants were a convenience sample of 83 overweight or obese Black women (M age = 46, SD = 11.6) enrolled in one of five participating 7-week <em>Curves for Women</em> weight management classes offered in California. Spirituality was assessed at baseline, while self-efficacy, behavior, and body composition measurements were collected at baseline, 4 and 7 weeks.</p> <p><em><strong>Analyses</strong></em></p> <p>Baseline self-efficacy was significantly positively correlated with spiritual experiences (<em>r </em>= .43, <em>p</em> < .001) and congregational support through love and care (<em>r </em>= .28, <em>p </em>= .02). Baseline self-efficacy and daily spiritual experiences independently explained end-of-program self-efficacy for physical activity (R²= .53, β = .218, <em>p </em>= .03) and eating variables (R²= .35, β = .270, <em>p </em>= .01), controlling for age. Self-efficacy to overcome exercise barriers (72.2 vs. 44.6, <em>p</em> < .001) and to continue exercise (87.8 vs. 61.7, <em>p</em> = .03) was was significantly higher among those who met physical activity recommendations during the program, indicating that self-efficacy was related to behavior.</p> <p><em><strong>Conclusion and Significance to Health Education</strong></em></p> <p>Interventions with a spiritual component that appeal to Black women for whom spirituality is important, have the potential to be more effective than basic weight management programs without such a component. This study supports the hypothesis that spirituality affects self-efficacy for exercise and eating behaviors, which may ultimately translate into more effective weight management outcomes. Further research is needed to test whether the addition of spirituality as a component of culturally sensitive health education and behavior change programs and practices involving Black women is effective in improving weight loss.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year

2010

Author dc:creator

• Bowie, Shené L.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Helen Hopp Marshak
• Patti Herring
• Brenda Rea
• Desiree Backman

• Experimental Analysis of Behavior
• Health Psychology
• Public Health Education and Promotion
• Transpersonal Psychology
• Obesity in women -- Prevention; Women, Black -- Psychology; African American women -- Religious life; Women and religion; Spirituality -- Comparative studies; Obesity -- Prevention and control; Obesity -- Ethnology; African-Americans; Body Weights and Measures -- Ethnology; African-Americans; Women's Health; Religion and Medicine

Statement dc:rights

• This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/1482

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsrepository.llu.edu:etd-2257