Does Education Close the Black-White Physical Activity and Obesity Gaps?

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate physical activity patterns and body mass index (BMI) among black and white women in college to determine if attending college acts as a catalyst for sustaining physical activity and for closing the black-white physical activity and obesity gaps. Participants/Methods: 111 undergraduate women (black N = 42; white N = 69) aged 18-25 volunteered to wear Fitbit ZipTM activity trackers for 7 days. Height and weight measurements were used to compute BMI. Results: White women had higher levels of physical activity, lower weight status, and lower BMIs than black women. Conclusions: Racial disparities were evident; however, both groups had low to moderate levels of physical activity. Required physical education programing that targets women in college could lead to sustained physical activity.

Natural Hair: a Vital Component to Black Women's Health.

Hair is a barrier to physical activity engagement for Black women. Eurocentric and straight hairstyles have shown to compromise Black women's health; yet, the health implications of these hair practices have garnered little attention. This study examines the impact of natural hair on physical activity behaviors and health profiles among Black women. Sixty-nine Black women (ages 18-51) affiliated with a large predominately White institution completed demographic and hair questionnaires, Godin's Leisure-Time Exercise questionnaire, Rosenburg's self-esteem scale, and the Bankhead-Johnson hair-esteem scale. Body composition was assessed using waist circumference and body mass index. Descriptive statistics including mean, standard deviation, and percentages were employed to determine health status in each measure. Correlation analysis determined associations between each variable. Black women with natural hair were physically active, and had positive hair- and self-esteem profiles. Body composition was high; however, BMI metrics used are inappropriate for Black women. The authors conclude that natural hair may be a catalyst for Black women to improve mental and physical health. Afrocentric approaches that include affirmations of natural hairstyles are recommended to increase the effectiveness of health and physical activity promotion efforts that target Black women.

Fatness, fitness, and cardiometabolic risk factors among sixth-grade youth.

PURPOSE: Examine whether cardiometabolic risk factors are predicted by fitness or fatness among adolescents. METHODS: Participants are 4955 (2614 female) sixth-grade students with complete data from 42 US middle schools. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for total cholesterol, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, and insulin concentrations. Waist circumference and blood pressure were assessed. Body mass index (BMI) was categorized as normal weight, overweight, or obese as a measure of fatness. Fitness was assessed using the multistage shuttle test and was converted into gender-specific quintiles. Gender-specific regression models, adjusted for race, pubertal status, and household education, were run to identify whether BMI group predicted risk factors. Models were repeated with fitness group and both fitness and fatness groups as predictors. RESULTS: Means for each risk factor (except HDL, which was the reverse) were significantly higher (P < 0.0001) with increased fatness and differed across all BMI groups (P < 0.001). Waist circumference, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, diastolic blood pressure, and insulin were inversely associated with fitness (P < 0.001). When both fatness and fitness were included in the model, BMI was associated (P < 0.001) with almost all cardiometabolic risk factors; fitness was only associated with waist circumference (both genders), LDL-cholesterol (males), and insulin (both genders). Other associations between fitness and cardiometabolic risk factors were attenuated after adjustment for BMI group. CONCLUSIONS: Both fatness and fitness are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors among sixth-grade youth, but stronger associations were observed for fatness. Although maintaining high levels of fitness and preventing obesity may positively affect cardiometabolic risk factors, greater benefit may be obtained from obesity prevention.

Development of new physical activity and sedentary behavior change self-efficacy questionnaires using item response modeling.

BACKGROUND: Theoretically, increased levels of physical activity self-efficacy (PASE) should lead to increased physical activity, but few studies have reported this effect among youth. This failure may be at least partially attributable to measurement limitations. In this study, Item Response Modeling (IRM) was used to develop new physical activity and sedentary behavior change self-efficacy scales. The validity of the new scales was compared with accelerometer assessments of physical activity and sedentary behavior. METHODS: New PASE and sedentary behavior change (TV viewing, computer video game use, and telephone use) self-efficacy items were developed. The scales were completed by 714, 6th grade students in seven US cities. A limited number of participants (83) also wore an accelerometer for five days and provided at least 3 full days of complete data. The new scales were analyzed using Classical Test Theory (CTT) and IRM; a reduced set of items was produced with IRM and correlated with accelerometer counts per minute and minutes of sedentary, light and moderate to vigorous activity per day after school. RESULTS: The PASE items discriminated between high and low levels of PASE. Full and reduced scales were weakly correlated (r = 0.18) with accelerometer counts per minute after school for boys, with comparable associations for girls. Weaker correlations were observed between PASE and minutes of moderate to vigorous activity (r = 0.09 - 0.11). The uni-dimensionality of the sedentary scales was established by both exploratory factor analysis and the fit of items to the underlying variable and reliability was assessed across the length of the underlying variable with some limitations. The reduced sedentary behavior scales had poor reliability. The full scales were moderately correlated with light intensity physical activity after school (r = 0.17 to 0.33) and sedentary behavior (r = -0.29 to -0.12) among the boys, but not for girls. CONCLUSION: New physical activity and sedentary behavior change self-efficacy scales have fewer items than classical test theory derived alternatives and have reasonable validity for boys, but more work is needed to develop comparable scales for girls. Fitting the items to a underlying variable could be useful in tailoring interventions to this scale.