The Role of Race and Gender in Nutrition Habits and Self-Efficacy: Results from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study

Overweight and obesity are a massive public health problem and young adults are at high risk for gaining weight once they enter a college. This study sought to examine gender and race as they relate to nutrition habits and self-efficacy in a population of diverse young adults from the Young Adult We...

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Main Authors: Janna D. Stephens, Andrew Althouse, Alai Tan, Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-01-01
Series:Journal of Obesity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5980698
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author Janna D. Stephens
Andrew Althouse
Alai Tan
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk
author_facet Janna D. Stephens
Andrew Althouse
Alai Tan
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk
author_sort Janna D. Stephens
collection DOAJ
description Overweight and obesity are a massive public health problem and young adults are at high risk for gaining weight once they enter a college. This study sought to examine gender and race as they relate to nutrition habits and self-efficacy in a population of diverse young adults from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study. Participants (N=62) were 29% males, 38.7% white, 33.8% Asian, and 12.9% African American. Males had lower self-efficacy for healthy eating (mean score = 92.5, SD = 17.1) compared to females (mean = 102.3, SD = 13.7, p=0.02). Males had higher consumption of sodium compared to females (4308 versus 3239 milligrams/day, p=0.01). There were no significant differences across racial subgroups in self-efficacy for healthy eating (p=0.67) or self-efficacy for exercise (p=0.61). Higher self-efficacy scores for healthy eating were significantly associated with less total sodium (r=-0.37, p=0.007), greater fruit consumption, and less saturated fat. Our results indicate that weight loss interventions should be individualized and that there may be specific areas to target that are different for men and women. Additional larger studies should be conducted to confirm if racial differences exist across nutrition habits and self-efficacy and to confirm gender differences noted in this study.
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spelling doaj-art-ba891f906ff34b79b4486f1f4b1bab072025-08-20T03:22:52ZengWileyJournal of Obesity2090-07082090-07162017-01-01201710.1155/2017/59806985980698The Role of Race and Gender in Nutrition Habits and Self-Efficacy: Results from the Young Adult Weight Loss StudyJanna D. Stephens0Andrew Althouse1Alai Tan2Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk3The Ohio State University College of Nursing, Columbus, OH, USAHeart and Vascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USAThe Ohio State University College of Nursing, Columbus, OH, USAThe Ohio State University College of Nursing, Columbus, OH, USAOverweight and obesity are a massive public health problem and young adults are at high risk for gaining weight once they enter a college. This study sought to examine gender and race as they relate to nutrition habits and self-efficacy in a population of diverse young adults from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study. Participants (N=62) were 29% males, 38.7% white, 33.8% Asian, and 12.9% African American. Males had lower self-efficacy for healthy eating (mean score = 92.5, SD = 17.1) compared to females (mean = 102.3, SD = 13.7, p=0.02). Males had higher consumption of sodium compared to females (4308 versus 3239 milligrams/day, p=0.01). There were no significant differences across racial subgroups in self-efficacy for healthy eating (p=0.67) or self-efficacy for exercise (p=0.61). Higher self-efficacy scores for healthy eating were significantly associated with less total sodium (r=-0.37, p=0.007), greater fruit consumption, and less saturated fat. Our results indicate that weight loss interventions should be individualized and that there may be specific areas to target that are different for men and women. Additional larger studies should be conducted to confirm if racial differences exist across nutrition habits and self-efficacy and to confirm gender differences noted in this study.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5980698
spellingShingle Janna D. Stephens
Andrew Althouse
Alai Tan
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk
The Role of Race and Gender in Nutrition Habits and Self-Efficacy: Results from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study
Journal of Obesity
title The Role of Race and Gender in Nutrition Habits and Self-Efficacy: Results from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study
title_full The Role of Race and Gender in Nutrition Habits and Self-Efficacy: Results from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study
title_fullStr The Role of Race and Gender in Nutrition Habits and Self-Efficacy: Results from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Race and Gender in Nutrition Habits and Self-Efficacy: Results from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study
title_short The Role of Race and Gender in Nutrition Habits and Self-Efficacy: Results from the Young Adult Weight Loss Study
title_sort role of race and gender in nutrition habits and self efficacy results from the young adult weight loss study
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5980698
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