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Examining the evidence for policy and environmental strategies to prevent childhood obesity in black communities: new directions and next steps
Author(s) -
Kumanyika S. K.,
Swank M.,
Stachecki J.,
WhittGlover M. C.,
Brennan L. K.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/obr.12206
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , ethnic group , childhood obesity , obesity , medicine , environmental health , gerontology , conceptual framework , appeal , intervention (counseling) , psychology , political science , overweight , nursing , sociology , law , social science
Summary Exposure to physical and policy environments that limit availability, affordability and appeal of healthy eating and active living options is higher for U.S. blacks than whites. This may contribute to high risk of obesity in black communities and limit effectiveness of preventive interventions. Here, we assess applicability to black A mericans of findings from a prior evidence review system designed to accelerate the discovery and application of policy and environmental strategies for childhood obesity prevention and assess external validity. The database included 600 peer‐reviewed articles reporting data from 396 sets of studies (study groupings) published from J anuary 2000 through M ay 2009 and pertained to 24 types of policy and environmental strategies. Only 33 study groupings (∼8%) included ≥50% black A mericans or reported subgroup analyses. Of 10 evaluation studies for interventions rated as effective for all populations in the primary review, 8 suggested effectiveness of child‐focused interventions in school or child care settings for obesity‐ or physical activity‐related outcomes in black A mericans. Overall findings highlight the need for rigorous evaluations of interventions that reach black children in community or institutional settings, and conceptual frameworks and research designs geared to identifying ethnic or ethnicity–income group differences in intervention effects.