Abstract

Obesity and overweight disproportionately impact Black American adolescent females-placing them at a lifetime of elevated physical health risks. Despite this burden, the literature that explores the contributors to obesity and overweight among Black American adolescent females remains limited and unclear. This dissertation aims to develop knowledge related to obesity and overweight in Black American adolescent females, by appraising the current understanding of factors that contribute to their obesity and overweight, and explicating the everyday social influences on dietary practices. The primary study conducted for this dissertation used a mixed method, multiple case study design to examine the mother, daughter, and other household contributors to Black American adolescent daughters' everyday practices of food consumption, acquisition, preparation, and planning. Findings reveal the importance of understanding the complex and dynamic ways mothers and other household members contribute to a holistic view of everyday dietary practices among adolescent daughters. By deeply examining the nuanced ways the multiple cases varied, context-dependent knowledge essential to understanding the complicated health challenge of obesity was produced. Subsequently, recommendations are provided for health providers and scholars to more holistically approach and examine obesity—particularly among populations who are disproportionately affected.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 10141191; ProQuest document ID: 1822169764. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Megan R. Winkler, PhD, RN, PNP-PC

Sigma Membership

Beta Epsilon

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Descriptive/Correlational

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Black Adolescent Females, Obesity, Interpersonal Relations, Dietary Behaviors

Advisor

Debra H. Brandon

Second Advisor

Gary G. Bennett

Third Advisor

Sharron L. Docherty

Fourth Advisor

Leigh A. Simmons

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

Duke University

Degree Year

2016

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2021-10-25

Full Text of Presentation

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