The influence of body esteem, feedback from significant others, and eating practices on obesity in a sample of African American females and Latinas ages 9--15

Once obesity is established in childhood and adolescence, it often becomes a chronic health problem later in life. In addition, obesity and overweight status occur more often among African American (AA) and Latino (LA) youth than among other youth. The purpose of this study was to consider three specific factors, (body esteem, feedback from significant others, eating practices), that place AA and LA female youth at risk for overweight and obese status. A mixed methods approach was utilized to assess themes associated with obesity. Predominantly quantitative methods were used with self-report instruments to assess 164 AA and 158 LA girls in 4th–8 th grade (ages 9 to 15). A qualitative method using a focus group was utilized to better understand and identify from parents' perspectives the factors that place girls at risk for obesity. The findings indicated that the mediating variable Eating Practices, in addition to the independent variables Social Influence on Weight Concerns and Physical Activity, predicted the outcome variable Body Esteem among the girls surveyed. However Eating Practices did not mediate the relationship between the independent and outcome variables. The grouping variable, grade, was the only variable in which differences in one of the five paths of the final model were observed. No differences in the girls were observed by the grouping variables of age, maturation, weight status, or family connectedness. Results indicated that feedback from significant others concerning the girls' weight concerns was a stronger predictor of body esteem among the 6th–8th grade girls than among the 4th and 5th grade girls. These findings suggest ways that parents, teachers, and youth advocates might support and promote positive health outcomes among girls and adolescents related to obesity.