Why are some women unable to stick to weight loss goals? That’s the question Julia Austin, graduate assistant and doctoral candidate in the University of New Mexico Department of Psychology, is trying to answer.
“I am trying to find out what is interfering with the ability of women to actually complete a weight loss program,” Austin said.
Austin is studying the socio-cultural and environmental barriers to participation in a weight loss program among a sample of Mexican American women ages 18 to 65. Participants must be healthy enough to make lifestyle changes and be able to complete the program in English.
“I think I am doing research that there definitely is a need for,” she said. “We have health disparities [in the United States] and we know that there is not equal health among different groups of people in this country.”
“I am focusing on this group because there are higher rates of women struggling with their weight within the Mexican American community,” Austin said. They have “twice the rates of diabetes compared to non-Hispanic white women and a lot of other health problems.”
“I think it is such a pressing issue,” she said. “If you look at the rates of diabetes, it is just so high…. A Mexican American woman who has Type 2 diabetes will lose about 10 years of her lifespan and that is very frightening.”
With the help of the New Heart Center, Austin tests several factors for why treatment adherence is not equal among different ethnic groups in the country. “We are looking at both the cultural factors and possibly environmental factors that might get in people’s way when they are trying to make changes,” she said.
Austin said that factors such as food security, access to transportation and child care, being able to walk in one’s neighborhood, family size, body image and depression play a big role in whether a woman will stick with a weight loss program.
“We know that there are effective programs out there, in terms of having a healthier lifestyle, but for whatever reason there are ethnic differences in how much people adhere to these programs,” she said.
Focusing on women with a body mass index, or BMI, of 25-40, Austin has evaluated 100 participants thus far, each participating in a 16 week group-based weight loss program, in which adherence is measured by completion of treatment goals. At the end of each program, participants give Austin feedback about the program’s benefits and drawbacks.
“I hope to find out what are the factors that interfere with treatment and potential ways that we could tailor future programs, so we can make the programs either more culturally appropriate or overcome some of these barriers,” she said.
Interested participants should contact Austin at, (866) 202-9897. The call is toll free.
Story by Jazmen Bradford
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at October 21, 2008 11:00 AM