This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (8) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Liburd, L. C. Articles by Jack, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Liburd, L. C. Articles by Jack, L., Jr Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Diabetes Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Body Size and Body Shape: Perceptions of Black Women With Diabetes

Division of Diabetes Translation, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (MS: K-10), Atlanta, GA 30341 LCL1{at}cdc.gov

Lynda A. Anderson, PhD

Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

Timothy Edgar, PhD

Westat, Rockville, Maryland

Leonard Jack, Jr, PhD

Division of Diabetes Translation, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

PURPOSE

this qualitative study was conducted to explore perceptions of body size and shape in a group of black women with Type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

Thirty-three black women with Type 2 diabetes participated in one of three focus groups to discuss perceptions about body size and body shape. Transcriptions of the discussion were analyzed for themes of participants' perceptions about their bodies, their ideas about body size and body shape, and personal and environmental influences on their preferences about size and shape.

RESULTS

Participants preferred a middle-to-small body size but indicated that a middle-to-large body size was healthier. They also said that a large body size did result in some untoward social consequences. Participants preferred a pear-shaped body (a figure without abdominal adiposity). The three major influences on body image perceptions were children, parents, and the media.

CONCLUSIONS

With these findings in mind, diabetes education programs that are geared for black women may benefit from the inclusion of key family members. Additionally, the importance of body image perceptions should be recognized in the design and implementation of weight-related diabetes education programs.

The Diabetes Educator, Vol. 25, No. 3, 382-388 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/014572179902500309


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Murphy, T. Chapel, and C. Clark Moving Diabetes Care from Science to Practice: The Evolution of the National Diabetes Prevention and Control Program Ann Intern Med, June 1, 2004; 140(11): 978 - 984. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Burnet, A. Plaut, R. Courtney, and M. H. Chin A Practical Model for Preventing Type 2 Diabetes in Minority Youth The Diabetes Educator, September 1, 2002; 28(5): 779 - 795. [Abstract] [PDF]