The impact of weight on quality of life in African American women

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Tiffany L. Cox, MPH is motivated and committed to an academic career in obesity research. She has demonstrated her ability to complete projects and work independently in the past, and shows the qualities necessary to become a productive researcher with the education and training provided by this fellowship. Sponsors: Jose R. Fernandez, PhD, Vice Chair of Education in the Nutrition Sciences Department is committed to mentorship of young investigators, fellows and students as well as providing themes and direction to the department whose mission is to develop critical and analytical thinkers that will contribute to the field of obesity research. Jamy D. Ard, MD, Vice Chair of Clinical Activity will serve as co- sponsor offering further expertise in clinical research and culturally specific challenges in obesity. Environment: UAB provides depth and diversity of clinical research endeavors as well as state-of-the-art physical resources necessary to support this F31 application. Specific resources that will be utilized in this proposal include UAB's NIH funded Clinical Nutrition Research Center, research facilities and resources within the Department of Nutrition Sciences and the School of Public Health. Research: African American women currently represent a disproportionate number of overweight individuals in the United States. However, it remains unclear whether excess weight has a significant association with reported quality of life in African American women. Since quality of life is related to overall health, it is worthwhile to examine the impact of weight on quality of life in this unique population. This proposal aims to address the following: 1) assess the overall and domain specific impact of weight on quality of life in African American women using the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life - Lite (IWQOL-Lite) Survey 2) compare the reported impact of weight on quality of life in African American and Caucasian women using a matched sample from extant data on Caucasian women, and 3) use the Baron and Kenny test for mediation to determine if body image dissatisfaction is a mediator in the relationship between BMI and quality of life in this unique population. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Accomplishing the goals of this proposal will provide valuable literature to address a key health disparity in the field of obesity, a component of the overall mission of several agencies within the National Institutes of Health. A better understanding of the effect of BMI on all domains of health including quality of life in African American women will lead to the development of appropriate interventions to promote achieving a healthy body weight in African American women. It will also help to build upon Tiffany's foundation for a continued career in the area of obesity research in underrepresented populations.