Eating Patterns in Overweight African American Women: Generic Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract

This generic qualitative research study was designed to explore the experiences of overweight African American women and factors that influence their eating patterns. The theoretical framework for this study is Bandura’s social cognitive theory, with emphasis on the constructs of self-efficacy and modeling. An in-depth literature review was performed to understand what is already known about the experiences of overweight African American women and revealed a gap in the literature. Although the rate of obesity is significant in African American women, the experiences of overweight African American women are understudied and largely unknown. The data collection consisted of face-to-face semi-structured and structured interviews with eight African American women who were willing to share their experiences. The research question was: How do overweight African American women describe factors that influence their eating patterns? The five themes that emerged from the data analysis included the following: (a) cultural influences, (b) stress/emotional influences, (c) environment/affordability, (d) coping behaviors, and (e) health/weight perceptions. The primary conclusion of the study indicated that stress was a common denominator for each factor that led to specific food cravings and snacking while the women juggled multiple responsibilities related to work, family, education, and life experiences. Future researchers should consider how to recruit and retain more overweight African American women in research studies so that practical treatment prescriptions can be developed.