A study of a culturally enhanced EatRight dietary intervention in a predominately African American workplace.

CONTEXT

The workplace may be an ideal venue for engaging African American women in behavioral interventions for weight reduction.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effectiveness of a culturally enhanced EatRight dietary intervention among a group of predominately African American women in a workplace setting.

DESIGN

Crossover design study.

SETTING

Workplace.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 39 women volunteered for this study, of whom 27 completed it.

INTERVENTION

The control period involved observation of participants for 22 weeks after receiving standard counseling on lifestyle methods to achieve a healthy weight; following the control period, participants crossed over to the 22-week intervention period. The intervention was culturally enhanced using feedback derived from formative assessment and delivered as 15 group sessions.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome measure was the difference in weight change between the control and intervention periods; changes in waist circumference and quality of life were secondary outcomes.

RESULTS

Most participants were obese, with a mean baseline body mass index of 36 kg/m², weight of 97.9 kg, and waist circumference of 111 cm. Weight increased during the control period by 0.7 kg but decreased by 2.6 kg during the intervention (net difference = -3.4 kg, P <.001), with 30% of participants losing 5% or more of body weight. Compared to the control period, there was a significant decrease in waist circumference (-3.6 cm, P =.006) and improvement in weight-related quality of life (5.7, P =.03).

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of a culturally enhanced behavioral weight loss intervention in a predominately African American workplace setting. The workplace may be conducive for targeting African American women who are disproportionately affected by obesity.