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Title: Qualitative study among African American parents to inform an intervention to promote adoption of the dietary guidelines for Americans food and phyical activity recommendations

Author
item MCGEE, BERNESTINE - Southern University And A & M College
item RICHARDSON, VALERIE - Southern University And A & M College
item JOHNSON, GLENDA - Southern University And A & M College
item JOHNSON, CRYSTAL - Southern University And A & M College

Submitted to: Food and Nutrition Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/16/2014
Publication Date: 4/1/2014
Citation: McGee, B.B., Richardson, V., Johnson, G., Johnson, C. 2014. Qualitative study among African American parents to inform an intervention to promote adoption of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans food and phyical activity recommendations. Food and Nutrition Sciences. 5(9):835-849.

Interpretive Summary: Qualitative research methodology, specifically focus groups are informal sessions in which participants provide their opinions on a specific topic. This study conducted a series of focus groups to determine the opinions of local residents regarding approaches to use to design a culturally acceptable healthy lifestyle program to increase adherence to the Dietary Guides for Americans (DGA) in African American residents in two Louisiana parishes. This program will lead to weight gain preventing and a reduction in risk factors for obesity-related chronic diseases in African American parents and their children living in Lower Mississippi Delta communities. Residents indicated a variety of factors that influence eating and physical activity behavior and educational approaches. Major themes that emerged included challenges of meeting the DGA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) physical activity guidelines, cultural influences on food habits and body size, barriers to participation in a program to promote healthy food choices and regular physical activity. The application of these findings in designing a healthy lifestyle program will lead to dynamic sessions to encourage a healthy weight in residents' families especially children 8-13 years of age. Such information can be used to guide obesity interventions in the future.

Technical Abstract: This qualitative study was conducted to enable the research team to culturally tailor an intervention to increase adherence to the dietary guidelines for Americans (DGA) in African American parents and their children living in Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) Communities. Focus group results guided the planning of an obesity prevention intervention utilizing the We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition) obesity prevention program. The main outcome measure was perceptions of approaches to use in culturally tailoring a nutrition and physical activity intervention. Six focus group sessions were conducted with 86 African American adults to identify cultural concerns, intervention strategies in two Louisiana parishes in the LMD. The focus groups discussions were audio record, transcribed, and analyzed to identify recurring trends and food habits and physical activity, challenges of meeting the DGA and the Centers for Disease Control physical activity guidelines, facilitators and barriers to adhering to healthy food and physical activity guidelines and program development. Wider acceptance and use of the DGA recommendations is needed by LMD populations, leading to reduced prevalence of overweight and obesity and parallel reductions in the prevalence of chronic diseases. Interventions are needed that will enhance adherence to the DGA particularly tailoring an intervention to promote adoption if the DGA in two low-income African-American Delta communities.