COMPARISON OF LIFE-STYLES AMONG OBESE AND NONOBESE AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN-AMERICAN WOMEN IN THE COMMUNITY

Background: Gender and race differences in preventive health behavior have been examined in several studies. A few race- and gender-specific studies of health-promoting activities have been conducted although n one of these specifically addresses race, female gender, obesity, and health-promoting activities. Such a study would fill an important gap in the literature. Objectives: To examine the effects of race and obes ity on health-promoting behaviors in women. Method: A comparative desc riptive design was used with two levels of body size (obese and nonobe se) and two levels of race (African American and European American). R esults: Obese women scored lower than nonobese women on all Health-Pro moting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) scales. African American women scored lower than European women only on nutrition. Conclusions: Health promo tion counseling should be considered for all obese women because obesi ty may be a mediating variable between race and health-promoting behav iors.