Problematic eating behaviors are more prevalent in low-income African American women with obesity/overweight than low-income African American women who are lean or normal weight and the accuracy of self-report versus actual heights and weights among a low-income ethnically diverse sample

Opichka, Katelyn2020-09-222020-09-222018-08https://hdl.handle.net/11299/216318University of Minnesota M.S. thesis. August 2018. Major: Nutrition. Advisor: Chery Smith. 1 computer file (PDF); v, 88 pages.Much research has focused on exploring the prevalence, repercussions, and possible causes linked to obesity including certain eating behaviors that could lead to an increased weight. Few qualitative studies have looked at how certain eating behaviors can lead to obesity in the light of neuronal control of intake. Also, many research and clinical settings use self-report height and weight to determine the prevalence of obesity of morbidity of the patient. However, self-report height and weight is not always an accurate measure and therefore could lead to underestimation of obesity and patients not acknowledging the dangers of obesity. Therefore, the objectives of this project was 1) to compare problematic eating behaviors between African American women who were lean or normal weight and women who were overweight or obese and 2) to determine the accuracy of self-report height and weight in an ethnically and age diverse sample of predominately low-income adults and children. Focus groups, the Palatable Eating Motives Scale (PEMS), and a taste test were used to compare problematic eating behaviors of low-income African American women. For the second part of this project, data from multiple previous studies were analyzed to compare self-reported heights and weights to actual heights and weights in a diverse sample that included both genders, all ages, and multiple races. Results from this study suggest problematic eating behaviors such as overeating, eating in the absence of hunger, and the loss of control over consumption are more abundant in women with obesity/overweight. This study also suggests self-reported height and weight vary from actual measurements for both children and adults and may lead to underestimation of obesity prevalence and a lack of acknowledgement of the comorbidities of obesity.enAfrican Americaneating behaviorobesityself-reported heightself-reported weightProblematic eating behaviors are more prevalent in low-income African American women with obesity/overweight than low-income African American women who are lean or normal weight and the accuracy of self-report versus actual heights and weights among a low-income ethnically diverse sampleThesis or Dissertation