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Racial Discrimination, Racial Identity, and Obesity in Collegiate African American Women

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Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To investigate relationships among racial discrimination, explicit racial identity, and obesity in young collegiate African American (AA) women aged 18–25.

Design

Researchers recruited 136 women who self-identified as AA from a large Midwestern university. Racial discrimination (RD) was measured using lifetime overt experiences of discrimination, recent microaggressions, and vicarious RD directed towards close others. Explicit racial identity included dimensions of private regard, public regard, and centrality. Generalized obesity (elevated body mass index) and abdominal obesity (increased fat distribution in the midsection) were measured biometrically using kg/m2 and waist circumference, respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression was employed to explore main and interaction effects.

Results

After controlling for adverse life events and income, overt RD, recent microaggressions, and private regard directly accounted for variance in both BMI and waist circumference. Public regard and centrality moderated relationships between RD variables and waist circumference.

Conclusions

RD and racial identity accounted for up to 13% of variance in BMI and waist circumference in main effects models among young collegiate AA women. While obesity is a multifactorial phenomenon, racial discrimination and racial identity may affect observed racial disparities in obesity rates among young women.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Gail Spake and Denise Karshner for the format and editorial revisions.

Funding

Dr. Manns-James was supported in this study by the American College of Nurse-Midwives Educational Fellowship and by the March of Dimes Graduate Nursing Scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health, Frontier Nursing University, Versailles, KY, USA

    Laura Manns-James

  2. College of Nursing, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Mary K. Anthony

  3. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Angela Neal-Barnett

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Correspondence to Laura Manns-James.

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Manns-James, L., Anthony, M.K. & Neal-Barnett, A. Racial Discrimination, Racial Identity, and Obesity in Collegiate African American Women. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 8, 1217–1231 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00880-x

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