Advertisement
AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Jan 31, 2007
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
AJPH.2005.080663v1
97/3/526    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow purchase articles
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Right arrow Get other permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Vines, A. I.
Right arrow Articles by McNeilly, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Vines, A. I.
Right arrow Articles by McNeilly, M.
©
American Journal of Public Health, 10.2105/AJPH.2005.080663

Research and Practice

Associations of Abdominal Fat With Perceived Racism and Passive Emotional Responses to Racism in African American Women

Anissa I. Vines 1*, Donna Day Baird 2, June Stevens 3, Irva Hertz-Picciotto 4, Kathleen C. Light 5, Maya McNeilly 6

1 UNC Chapel Hill, School of Public Health
2 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
3 UNC Chapel Hill
4 University of California at Davis
5 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
6 Duke University

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: avines{at}email.unc.edu.


  Abstract

Objectives. An excess in abdominal fat may predispose African American women to chronic health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Because stress may increase body fat in the center-body region, we used the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) to examine associations between excess abdominal fat and perceived racism (a chronic stressor) and daily stress. Passive emotional responses to perceived racism, hypothesized to have particularly adverse effects, were also examined. Methods. We controlled for body mass index in multiple logistic regression models among 447 African American women who completed a telephone interview on perceived racism. Results. Passive emotional responses were not related to WHR (odds ratio [OR]=1.4; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.8, 2.4). High perceived racism was associated with a low WHR in this population (OR=0.4; 95% CI=0.3, 0.8). However, high daily stress was related to a high WHR (OR=2.7; 95% CI=1.1, 6.7). Conclusions. Findings support an association between daily stress and WHR but do not support our hypothesis that passive emotional responses to perceived racism increase abdominal fat. Further study of the stress physiology of perceived racism in African American women is warranted.

Key Words: Chronic Disease, Mental Health, Obesity, Overweight, Underweight, African Americans/Blacks, Women's Health




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 AJPHHome page
H. E. R. Hunte and D. R. Williams
The Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Obesity in a Population-Based Multiracial and Multiethnic Adult Sample
Am J Public Health, July 1, 2009; 99(7): 1285 - 1292.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AJPHHome page
G. C. Gee, A. Ro, A. Gavin, and D. T. Takeuchi
Disentangling the Effects of Racial and Weight Discrimination on Body Mass Index and Obesity Among Asian Americans
Am J Public Health, March 1, 2008; 98(3): 493 - 500.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
Copyright © 2007 by the American Public Health Association