Table.

Studies that highlight cultural norms, psychosocial & environmental factors that contribute to obesity in black women

Study Title	Characteristics of Study or Population	Focus of Study	Relevant Findings
Cultural Norms
Body Image and Modifiable Weight Control Behaviors Among Black Females: A Review of the Literature (Robinson et al., 2011 [37•])	Literature review of 31 articles	Body image satisfaction and weight loss behaviors	Body image and culture influence dietary, physical activity, and smoking behaviors among black women.
Racial differences in perception of healthy body weight in midlife women: Results from the Do Stage Transition Result in Detectable Effects Study (Thomas et al., 2013 [38])	N= 689 black and white women aged 40 to 65 years	Weight perception	Among women with higher body mass index, black women are more accepting of their weight compared to white women.
Does perception equal reality? Weight misperception in relation to weight-related attitude and behaviors among overweight and obese US adults (Duncan et al., 2011 [41])	N=up to 5401 overweight/obese adults aged ≥ 20 from 2003–2006 NHANES	Weight misperception	Weight misperception in overweight and obese adults is associated with decreased interest or fewer attempts at weight loss and physical activity.
Psychosocial Stress
The contribution of stress to the social patterning of clinical and subclinical CVD risk factors in African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study (Gebreab et al., 2012 [44•])	N= 4404 African American adults residing in Jackson, MS	Perceived stress and negative life events	High psychosocial stress mediates the relationship between income and obesity, and income and diabetes for African American women.
Changes in Waist Circumference and Body Mass Index in the US CARDIA Cohort: Fixed effects associations with self-reported Experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination (Cunningham et al., 2012 [45•])	N=3,193 black and white adults ages 18–30 years	Racial/ ethnic discrimination	Self-reported experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination is associated with longitudinal weight gain and increases in waist circumference in black women.
Environmental Factors
Lifecourse educational status in relation to weight gain in African American women (Coogan et al., 2012 [46•])	N=21,457 women in the Black Women’s Health Study	Parental and current educational status	Low parental education status and achieved education below college level are associated with increased likelihood of adult obesity.
Racial and Ethnic Residential Segregation, the Neighborhood Socioeconomic Environment, and Obesity Among Blacks and Mexican Americans (Kershaw et al., 2012 [51•])	N= 5271 adults from NHANES 1999–200	Racial/ethnic residential segregation	High metropolitan level racial/ethnic residential segregation is associated with obesity in black women.
Residential segregation, health behavior and overweight/obesity among a national sample of African American adults (Corral et al., 2012 [52])	N=11,142 African Americans in the year 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System	Racial/ethnic residential segregation	Metropolitan level racial/ethnic residential segregation is associated with overweight/obesity in blacks.