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Collective Efficacy and Obesity-Related Health Behaviors in a Community Sample of African Americans

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Abstract

The social environment is important to body mass index and obesity. However, it is unknown if perceptions of the social environment are associated with obesity-related behaviors in populations at greatest risk for being overweight or obese. We evaluated the relationship between collective efficacy and diet and physical activity in a community-based sample of African American adults who were residents in an urban area. Data were collected as part of an academic-community partnership from November 2009 to 2011. We evaluated whether participants met the recommended guidelines for diet and physical activity based on collective efficacy and their sociodemographic background, health care variables, and self-efficacy in a community-based sample of African American adults (n = 338) who were residents in the Philadelphia, PA metropolitan area. Overall, many participants did not meet the recommended guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake or physical activity. The likelihood of meeting the recommended guidelines for fruit intake increased with greater levels of collective efficacy (OR 1.56, 95 % CI 1.18, 2.07, p = 0.002) and self-efficacy for diet (OR 1.56, 95 % CI 1.19, 2.04, p = 0.001). Collective efficacy was not associated with physical activity and the positive association between collective efficacy and vegetable intake was not statistically significant (OR 1.25, 95 % CI 0.94, 1.65, p = 0.12). It is important to determine the most effective methods and settings for improving diet and physical activity behaviors in urban African Americans. Enhancing collective efficacy may be important to improving adherence to recommended guidelines for obesity-related health behaviors.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge Aliya Collier, BA for data management, Stacey Brown, MSW for data collection and administration, and Brenda Bryant, BA for community outreach and relations. We are very appreciative to all of the women and men who participated in this research. This research was supported by National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities Grant #R24MD001594 and Grant #R18HS019339 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, 68 President Street, Suite BE103, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA

    Chanita Hughes Halbert

  2. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Scarlett Bellamy & Shiriki Kumanyika

  3. Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Vanessa Briggs

  4. Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA

    Marjorie Bowman

  5. National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer, Philadelphia Chapter, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Ernestine Delmoor

  6. Christ of Calvary Community Development Corporation, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Rodney Rogers

  7. Southwest Action Coalition, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Joseph Purnell

  8. Department of Psychiatry, Center for Community-Based Research and Health Disparities, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Benita Weathers

  9. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jerry C. Johnson

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  1. Chanita Hughes Halbert
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  2. Scarlett Bellamy
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Correspondence to Chanita Hughes Halbert.

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Halbert, C.H., Bellamy, S., Briggs, V. et al. Collective Efficacy and Obesity-Related Health Behaviors in a Community Sample of African Americans. J Community Health 39, 124–131 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-013-9748-z

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