BACKGROUND: Research on the association between self-reported racial or gender discrimination and body mass index (BMI) has been limited and inconclusive to date, particularly among lower-income populations. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current study was to examine the association between self-reported racial and gender discrimination and BMI among a sample of adult residents living in 12 urban lower-income housing sites in Boston, Masschusetts (USA). METHODS: Baseline survey data were collected among 1,307 (weighted N = 1907) study participants. For analyses, linear regression models with a cluster design were conducted using SUDAAN and SAS statistical software. RESULTS: Our sample was predominately Black (weighted n = 956) and Hispanic (weighted n = 857), and female (weighted n = 1420), with a mean age of 49.3 (SE: .40) and mean BMI of 30.2 kg m(-2) (SE: .19). Nearly 47% of participants reported ever experiencing racial discrimination, and 24.8% reported ever experiencing gender discrimination. In bivariate and multivariable linear regression models, no main effect association was found between either racial or gender discrimination and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: While our findings suggest that self-reported discrimination is not a key determinant of BMI among lower-income housing residents, these results should be considered in light of study limitations. Future researchers may want to investigate this association among other relevant samples, and other social contextual and cultural factors should be explored to understand how they contribute to disparities.
BACKGROUND: Research on the association between self-reported racial or gender discrimination and body mass index (BMI) has been limited and inconclusive to date, particularly among lower-income populations. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current study was to examine the association between self-reported racial and gender discrimination and BMI among a sample of adult residents living in 12 urban lower-income housing sites in Boston, Masschusetts (USA). METHODS: Baseline survey data were collected among 1,307 (weighted N = 1907) study participants. For analyses, linear regression models with a cluster design were conducted using SUDAAN and SAS statistical software. RESULTS: Our sample was predominately Black (weighted n = 956) and Hispanic (weighted n = 857), and female (weighted n = 1420), with a mean age of 49.3 (SE: .40) and mean BMI of 30.2 kg m(-2) (SE: .19). Nearly 47% of participants reported ever experiencing racial discrimination, and 24.8% reported ever experiencing gender discrimination. In bivariate and multivariable linear regression models, no main effect association was found between either racial or gender discrimination and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: While our findings suggest that self-reported discrimination is not a key determinant of BMI among lower-income housing residents, these results should be considered in light of study limitations. Future researchers may want to investigate this association among other relevant samples, and other social contextual and cultural factors should be explored to understand how they contribute to disparities.
Authors: Anissa I Vines; Donna D Baird; Maya McNeilly; Irva Hertz-Picciotto; Kathleen C Light; June Stevens Journal: Ethn Dis Date: 2006 Impact factor: 1.847
Authors: Anissa I Vines; Donna Day Baird; June Stevens; Irva Hertz-Picciotto; Kathleen C Light; Maya McNeilly Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2007-01-31 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: DeMarc A Hickson; Tené T Lewis; Jiankang Liu; David L Mount; Sinead N Younge; William C Jenkins; Daniel F Sarpong; David R Williams Journal: Ann Behav Med Date: 2012-02
Authors: Frederick X Gibbons; Meg Gerrard; Mary E Fleischli; Ronald L Simons; John H Kingsbury Journal: Health Psychol Date: 2021-03 Impact factor: 4.267
Authors: May A Beydoun; Angedith Poggi-Burke; Alan B Zonderman; Ola S Rostant; Michele K Evans; Deidra C Crews Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2017-09 Impact factor: 4.312
Authors: Lisa Rosenthal; Valerie A Earnshaw; Amy Carroll-Scott; Kathryn E Henderson; Susan M Peters; Catherine McCaslin; Jeannette R Ickovics Journal: J Health Psychol Date: 2013-10-22
Authors: Amanda B Brodish; Courtney D Cogburn; Thomas E Fuller-Rowell; Stephen Peck; Oksana Malanchuk; Jacquelynne S Eccles Journal: Race Soc Probl Date: 2011-08-31
Authors: Diana Gil-González; Carmen Vives-Cases; Carme Borrell; Andrés A Agudelo-Suárez; Mari Carmen Davó-Blanes; Juanjo Miralles; Carlos Álvarez-Dardet Journal: J Immigr Minor Health Date: 2014-04
Authors: Adolfo G Cuevas; Lorraine R Reitzel; Claire E Adams; Yumei Cao; Nga Nguyen; David W Wetter; Kellie L Watkins; Seann D Regan; Lorna H McNeill Journal: Am J Health Behav Date: 2014-01