In young black girls, safety concerns, lack of recreation options contribute to weight problems
| September 10, 2004 | |
| CHAPEL HILL-Inadequate recreational facilities and lingering concerns about safety combine to prevent black girls in some U.S. communities from getting enough physical exercise to prevent obesity and promote good health later in life, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study suggests. Preferences for indoor sedentary behaviors such as television viewing over outdoor vigorous activities and lack of motivation to be active also contribute to their weight gain risk.Researchers conducted 51 in-depth interviews with black girls and their mothers or grandmothers in a medium-sized North Carolina town to learn about barriers to physical activity, said Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen, assistant professor of nutrition at the UNC schools of public health and medicine. Total interview time, broken into three shorter sessions, averaged three hours per person.
“Lack of affordable and accessible neighborhood recreation facilities and poor traffic safety were among the elements that kept girls in our study inside their homes,” said Gordon-Larsen, who led the research. “We also found that the girls we talked to watched far too much television.” Previous studies at UNC and elsewhere showed that among all major racial and ethnic groups and both sexes, black girls faced the greatest chance of being significantly overweight or obese and inactive, she said. Poor diet and physical inactivity are the second leading causes of preventable death in the United States. “Childhood obesity and physical inactivity put youth at risk for cardiovascular and other chronic diseases,” the researcher said. “And they can also damage children’s self-esteem now and throughout their lifetimes.” The interviews were part of a continuing, church-based UNC obesity prevention pilot study in North Carolina the researchers call “Girls Rule!” “Most of the girls interviewed said that they did not like to play outdoors and preferred to watch TV,” Gordon-Larsen said. “In general, their mothers or grandmothers were unaware of the substantial amount of time their girls watched.” A report on the study will appear in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Other authors are Drs. Paula Griffiths of Longborough University in Leicestershire, England, and Margaret E. Bentley and Dianne S. Ward, professors of nutrition at UNC. Others, all at UNC, are Dr. Kristine Kelsey, research assistant professor of nutrition; Dr. Alice Ammerman, associate professor of nutrition; and Kenitra Shields, social research associate. Commonly, mothers and grandmothers in the study underestimated the time the girls, aged 6 to 9, spent in front of their televisions, Gordon-Larsen said. The women tended to regard television as a useful electronic babysitter that would allow them to perform chores while knowing the girls were safe. They also cared very much about the quality of what the children watched but not the quantity they watched. “Inactive children are likely to remain inactive throughout childhood, adolescence and young adulthood and are at much higher risk for obesity,” she said. Neither the girls nor the adults showed much interest in going outdoors to play, researchers found. That was because TV was so attractive, because they felt that neighborhood recreational facilities and opportunities were limited or because their neighborhoods were not safe for play, largely due to traffic concerns. “Adults understood the health benefits of physical activity but admitted lacking the motivation to take part themselves, inevitably setting a poor example for their daughters or granddaughters,” Gordon-Larsen said. Physical activities the girls did enjoy with their friends included hopscotch, jumping rope, dancing, swimming and bicycling. When asked about physical activities they could enjoy together, the favorite mentioned by both the girls and their mothers was walking, but the most frequent answers referred to sedentary activities like eating or watching TV. “Despite this interest in walking, it was not an activity that was regularly included in their schedules because of time, motivation or pedestrian safety concerns,” Gordon-Larsen said. To reduce inactivity and risk for obesity among such girls, the UNC scientist and her colleagues suggest increasing affordable and accessible opportunities for physical activity including improving traffic safety, motivating both caregivers and children to exercise more and countering positive perceptions of the role of television. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health and Office of Women’s Health supported the study.
This release was researched and written by David Williamson of UNC News Services. Note: Gordon-Larsen can be reached at (919) 843-9966 or pglarsen@unc.edu. Contact: David Williamson, (919) 962-8596 |
