| Obesity is a severe problem that may lead to significant life-threatening issues. This paper presents a study designed to report the social and cultural factors influencing the experience of obesity within the target population. The target population for this study is obese African-American women older than 18 years of age, a population that traditionally experiences obesity at higher rates than other women. Two sub-problems were evaluated to determine how social and cultural influences affect the obesity experience listed as follows: 1 What is the role of social relationships in shaping the experience of obesity? 2. What is the role of cultural ideals about body weight in shaping the experience of obesity? Data were collected at the Richard Showers Sr. Center through in-depth face-to-face qualitative interviews of program participants. The interviews followed Qualitative Phenomenology research methods (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995) and were analyzed using qualitative analysis software. The principal investigator observed social and cultural themes relevant to obesity for African-American women. The social relationship themes were: family physical activity, sedentary activity, social relationships, social stigmas, and companions. The cultural ideal themes were: meal preparation & portions, eating out, fruits and vegetables, and unhealthy food consumption. The body weight themes were: body weight, daily life, losing weight, health issues, and body image. Through the information obtained in this study, the principal investigator has contributed to the literature about social and cultural factors that influence obesity. |
