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.