Health Care : Current Reviews

Soul Food and Obesity: Interpreting messages about food in the African American community

Global Healthcare & Fitness Summit

July 20-22, 2015 San Francisco, USA

Mary A-R Helms and PsyD-Martha L. Morgan

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: Health Care: Current Reviews

Abstract:

Obesity is an ever-growing concern in the United States and particularly within the African American community, and it
is a concern that cannot be taken lightly. While there is a significant amount of research on obesity, there is very limited
published research on the communication in African American families regarding obesity, food, and health. The purpose of
this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was to explore the experiences of African American individuals as
it relates to communication about obesity, food, and health. Purposeful, snowball, criterion sampling was used to find willing
participants fitting the inclusion criteria. A total of six African American women participated in this study. Results highlighted
24 super-ordinate themes and six master themes related to the experiences of the participants as it pertains to communication
in their families regarding obesity, food and health. Eight master themes were highlighted as a result of the super-ordinate
themes: (a) lack of communication, (b) African American cultural norms, (c) patterns, (d) psychological impact of obesity, (e)
connection to food, (f) redefining healthy, (g) responsibility, and (h) promoting change. When taking all of the information
received from this study into consideration, it is imperative that changes are made that will begin to decrease the prevalence of
obesity within the African American community. It is hoped that in the years to come, research will be transformed with the
inclusion of the voices and experiences of many African American individuals and families.