Supporting health equity in obesity prevention for women of reproductive age

Women of reproductive age (18-44 years) are at an increased risk of developing obesity due to pregnancy, stressors during this stage in the life course (e.g., leaving home, new jobs, parenthood), and historical and ongoing discrimination and marginalization. Preventing obesity for this population needs to be a public health priority. Obesity negatively affects women’s health (e.g., chronic disease, cancer); leads to poor pregnancy outcomes (e.g., gestational diabetes); and increases the risk children will develop obesity through intergenerational transmission of obesity, further entrenching health disparities for future generations. Health equity principles of social justice and human rights help obesity prevention researchers and practitioners to recognize social determinants of health; meaningfully engage with communities; ensure evidence-based programs are designed and implemented for reach, accessibility, and sustainability; facilitate measurement of complex processes (e.g., discrimination); and evaluate where evidence comes from and who it is developed for. Women of reproductive age are an understudied population. More evidence is needed on the determinants of obesity risk, factors influencing engagement with obesity prevention efforts, and how and to what extent health equity is informing obesity prevention research for women of reproductive age. Aim 1 seeks to identify gaps and opportunities for advancing health equity in obesity prevention research for women of reproductive age through a review of health equity-focused empirical obesity prevention studies. Aim 2 uses a health equity framework to identify factors beyond the individual that may be associated with obesity among a sample of ethnically diverse women. Aim 3 describes how social determinants of health influence health behaviors and engagement with an evidence-based healthy weight intervention through semi-structured interviews. These aims provide evidence for supporting health equity principles in obesity prevention research for women of reproductive age and addressing health disparities for this population.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Work

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Gilbert, Amanda

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rachel Tabak
• Alexandra Morshed; Ana Baumann; Debra Haire-Joshu; Ross Brownson

• Chronic disease prevention;Maternal;Obesity;Reproductive age;Women

Language dc:language

English (en)

Identifier

https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/brown_etds/47

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:brown_etds-1046