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Perceptions and experiences of appetite awareness training among African-American women who binge eat

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity volume 25, pages 275–281 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction

Binge eating may contribute to the prevalence of obesity in African-American women. Yet, there has been scant intervention research on the treatment of binge eating in this population. We tested the feasibility of an appetite awareness training (AAT) intervention in a sample of African-American women with binge and overeating behaviors. Participants who completed AAT were recruited to participate in focus groups to elicit information about their perceptions and experiences with this intervention to inform the design of future interventions to treat binge eating and obesity in African-American women.

Methods

African-American women, aged 18–70 years, who had completed an 8-week randomized AAT intervention, were invited to attend a focus group discussion. Session content was recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed by use of open coding. Themes were identified that described their perceptions and experiences of participating in the intervention.

Results

Seventeen women participated in three focus group discussions. Pertinent themes identified included: paying attention to internal cues of hunger and satiety, influence of culture on eating patterns, breaking patterns of disordered eating, and perceptions about weight. Overall, participants were satisfied with their experience of AAT, and reported they found it valuable to learn about listening to biological signals of hunger and satiety and to learn specific strategies to reduce maladaptive eating patterns.

Conclusion

AAT was acceptable and provided helpful eating behavior instruction to African-American women with reported binge and overeating behaviors. Future research should examine the potential of AAT to improve weight management in this underserved population.

Level of evidence

Level V, qualitative descriptive study.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. Note: In the fourth 8-week AAT program, participants, who were offered treatment after having served as controls in the APPETITE study, were offered dinner at each session.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (F31HL126425), and the Magee Womens Research Institute (Amy Roberts Research Award).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 325 Pittsboro Street, Campus Box #3550, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3550, USA

    Rachel W. Goode & Mariah M. Cowell

  2. School of Nursing, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Melissa A. Kalarchian

  3. Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Linda Craighead

  4. Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Molly B. Conroy

  5. Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Tiffany Gary-Webb

  6. Department of Psychology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Elizabeth Bennett

  7. School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Lora E. Burke

Authors
  1. Rachel W. Goode
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  2. Melissa A. Kalarchian
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  3. Linda Craighead
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  4. Molly B. Conroy
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  5. Tiffany Gary-Webb
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  6. Elizabeth Bennett
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  7. Mariah M. Cowell
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  8. Lora E. Burke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rachel W. Goode.

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Conflict of interest

Authors Goode, Kalarchian, Conroy, Gary-Webb, Craighead, Bennett, Cowell, and Burke have no conflicts of interest to report.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study, which involved human participants, were in accordance with the ethical standards and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Pittsburgh, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Goode, R.W., Kalarchian, M.A., Craighead, L. et al. Perceptions and experiences of appetite awareness training among African-American women who binge eat. Eat Weight Disord 25, 275–281 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0577-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0577-z

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