Journal
JOURNAL OF HUMAN NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
Volume 28, Issue -, Pages 41-49Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/jhn.12239
Keywords
African Americans; health literacy; obesity; weight management
Categories
Funding
- Institutional Review Board
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Background: Individuals with limited health literacy (LHL) have poorer health outcomes and have difficulty understanding and complying with recommendations to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The present study examined the association between health literacy (HL) and sources of dieting information, the weight-loss methods used and the information needed to manage weight among African American women. Methods: This mixed method study included seven focus groups and a survey of 413 African American women. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between HL category and sources of dieting information, weight-loss methods and information needed to lose weight. Thematic analysis was used to analyse focus group data. Results: Women with LHL were significantly more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI) than those with AHL (P < 0.05). Compared to respondents with LHL, those with adequate health literacy (AHL) are more likely to rely on information obtained from the Internet (P < 0.001), although they are less likely to rely on information obtained from the television (P < 0.05). They also are significantly more likely to participate in physical activity to lose weight (P <= 0.002). In addition, women with AHL were significantly less likely to want information on portion control (P = 0.002). Major qualitative themes were the importance of television and the Internet as major sources of health information, the use of healthy and unhealthy weight-loss methods, and being overwhelmed by the plethora of dieting information. Conclusions: HL may affect BMI among AA women, where they access dieting information and the types of information needed to manage their weight.
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