Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Cultural conflicts in the weight loss experience of overweight Latinos

Abstract

Objective:

In spite of the high prevalence of obesity in the Latino population, there is limited recent information that can be used by health-care providers to develop culturally appropriate weight loss strategies for this population. Therefore, we describe weight loss experiences, attitudes and barriers in overweight Latino adults.

Design:

Qualitative study using focus group methodology

Subjects:

Twenty-one overweight adults (body mass index 25, age 20 years) self-identified as Latinos.

Methods:

Subjects participated in one of three focus groups. Reccurring themes within group discussions were identified by three independent investigators, one who was ethnicity concordant.

Results:

Themes included the presence of mixed messages when determining one's appropriate weight, with participants' desire to lose weight to be healthy (based on professional advice and personal experience) conflicting with the cultural idea that being overweight is healthy. Participants described discordance when adapting to the mainstream, leading to the loss of healthy traditional habits. Participants expressed interest in weight loss and familiarity with dieting and weight loss interventions. They desired culturally appropriate nutrition education and reassurance regarding healthy dieting from health-care providers. The importance of interactions with peers during education was another relevant theme, and participants were overwhelmingly positive about group education.

Conclusions:

To improve health promotion for Latinos, cultural factors distinctive to this underserved population, and barriers they articulate, should be considered when developing weight loss interventions.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Johnson CL . Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000. JAMA 2002; 288: 1723–1727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: the evidence report. NIH publication, No. 98-4083. Sept 1998. National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in cooperation with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

  3. Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL . Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. JAMA 2002; 288: 1728–1732.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Diaz VA, Mainous III AG, Koopman R, Geesey ME . Are ethnic differences in insulin sensitivity explained by variation in carbohydrate intake? Diabetologia 2005; 48: 1264–1268.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Stern MP, Pugh JA, Gaskill SP, Hazuda HP . Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to obesity and dieting in Mexican Americans and Anglos: the San Antonio Heart Study. Am J Epidemiol 1982; 115: 917–928.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Allan JD . Explanatory models of overweight among African American, Euro-American, and Mexican American women. West J Nurs Res 1998; 20: 45–66.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Juarbe TC . Cardiovascular disease-related diet and exercise experiences of immigrant Mexican women. West J Nurs Res 1998; 20: 765–782.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Anderson LA, Eyler AA, Galuska DA, Brown DR, Brownson RC . Relationship of satisfaction with body size and trying to lose weight in a national survey of overweight and obese women aged 40 and older, United States. Prev Med 2002; 35: 390–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Woodruff SI, Zaslow KA, Candelaria J, Elder JP . Effects of gender and acculturation on nutrition-related factors among limited-English proficient Hispanic adults. Ethnicity Dis 1997; 7: 121–126.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Rollnick S, Miller WR . What is motivational interviewing? Behav Cogn Psychother 1995; 23: 325–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Hovell MF . The experimental evidence for weight-loss treatment of essential hypertension: a critical review. Am J Public Health 1982; 72: 359–368.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Working Group of the PREMIER Collaborative Research Group. Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on blood pressure control: main results of the PREMIER clinical trial. JAMA 2003; 289: 2083–2093.

  13. Cuellar I, Bastida E, Braccio SM . Residency in the United States, subjective well-being, and depression in an older Mexican-origin sample. J Aging and Health 2004; 16: 447–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Skreblin L, Sujoldzic A . Acculturation process and its effects on dietary habits, nutritional behavior and body-image in adolescents. Collegium Antropol 2003; 27: 469–477.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Finch BK, Vega WA . Acculturation stress, social support, and self-rated health among Latinos in California. J Immigrant Health 2003; 5: 109–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Dressler WW, Bernal H . Acculturation and stress in a low-income Puerto Rican community. J Hum Stress 1982; 8: 32–38.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Ajzen I, Fishbein M . Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs,NJ, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Bronson DL, Maxwell RA . Shared medical appointments: increasing patient access without increasing physician hours. Cleveland Clin J Med 2004; 71: 369–370, 372, 374 passim.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Park SY, Murphy SP, Sharma S, Kolonel LN . Dietary intakes and health-related behaviours of Korean American women born in the USA and Korea: the Multiethnic Cohort Study. Public Health Nutr 2005; 8: 904–911.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Dodgson JE, Struthers R . Indigenous women's voices: marginalization and health. J Transcultural Nurs 2005; 16: 339–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Keyes EF, Kane CF . Belonging and adapting: mental health of Bosnian refugees living in the United States. Issues Mental Health Nurs 2004; 25: 809–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Stevens J, Alexandrov AA, Smirnova SG, Deev AD, Gershunskaya YuB, Davis CE et al. Comparison of attitudes and behaviors related to nutrition, body size, dieting and hunger in Russian, black-American, and white-American adolescents. Obes Res 1997; 5: 227–236.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Bailey TM, Delva J, Gretebeck K, Seifert K, Ismail A . A systematic review of mammography educational interventions for low-income women. Am J Health Promotion 2005; 20: 96–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Flynn BS, Gavin P, Worden JK, Ashikaga T, Gautman S, Carpenter J . Community education programs to promote mammography participation in rural New York State. Prev Med 1997; 26: 102–108.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Kulwick AD, Miller J . Domestic violence in the Arab American population. Issues Mental Health Nurs 1999; 20: 199–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper was supported in part by Grant #RR01070 to the General Clinical Research Center, HRSA Grant D11HP05206 and by EXPORT grant number 5P60MD000267. We thank the interviewees for their enthusiasm, insight and willingness to participate in this study. Muchas gracias.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V A Diaz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Diaz, V., Mainous, A. & Pope, C. Cultural conflicts in the weight loss experience of overweight Latinos. Int J Obes 31, 328–333 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803387

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803387

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links