An examination of postpartum African American adolescents' sociocultural beliefs, perceptions of body weight, and weight control behaviors.

Abstract

Obesity presents a public health challenge and is a serious chronic medical condition that is associated with multiple co-morbidities and reduced survivability/longevity. African American adolescents who retain weight after pregnancy are at the highest risk of becoming obese adults. Obesity is associated with 300,000 deaths per year and expected to cost the US. health care system over 237 million dollars within the next decade. The prevalence of obesity is cause for concern because of its economic costs and its toll in human suffering due to related morbidity and mortality. This study seeks to understand the meaning or essence of the lived experience of obesity among postpartum African American adolescents based on a literature review indicating the need for such a qualitative research. Understanding the influence of their developmental stage, sociocultural perceptions, and perceptions of postpartum weight retention could help develop population-specific interventions that could reduce the health risk of obesity.