This study suggests that young African-American adults may have perceptions of overweight that differ from those of the medical community. As seen in other studies, males are more likely than females to inaccurately classify their weight. The data presented here support earlier research showing that women’s definitions of overweight, ideal weight and healthy weight are [...]

In this study, we were interested in the association between body size awareness and body size satisfaction with the perceived risk of disease due to weight. Unadjusted analysis of perceived risk for any disease by body awareness and body satisfaction for male and female respondents revealed the following associations. For both male and female respondents, [...]

Table 1 shows demographic information by gender. The majority of the sample was single and U.S. citizens. Approximately, 15% of the sample had >1 children. Approximately two-thirds of the sample were employed; 54% received financial support from family; 33% received financial aid; 19% had savings or investments; 70% reported an annual income of <$20,000; and [...]

Sociodemographic Variables
Respondents reported on personal demographic information, including age, race, U.S. citizenship, marital status, number of children, income, health status and health history (ever diagnosed by a physician for any of the following conditions: high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and breathing problems).

Study Setting and Participants
We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 406 young adults (primarily African-American) graduating in the spring of 2003 from a historically black university located in the mid-Atlantic region. The entire graduating undergraduate class was eligible to participate regardless of age, sex or ethnicity. Overall, 855 students were scheduled to graduate: 36% male, 63% [...]

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is at epidemic levels in the United States, and this epidemic is particularly high among African Americans. The 1995 National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS) suggests that the prevalence of at least overweight is 48.7% in African-American students compared to 34.6% in white students. However, it has been [...]