A study led by Loneke Blackman Carr, assistant professor of nutritional science at the University of Connecticut, has uncovered that many traditional weight loss plans are ineffective for Black women due to a significant lack of research on their unique needs for lifestyle changes.
For the study, Dr. Carr and her co-author, Jameta N. Barlow, assistant professor in George Washington University’s department of women’s gender, and sexuality studies, reviewed 10 years of research from 2012 to 2022 regarding behavioral weight loss treatments. Of the 138 studies they reviewed, just eight projects included a sample where Black women made up at least half of all participants.
The studies analyzed by Dr. Carr and Dr. Barlow featured lifestyle interventions focused on health diet and physical activity, and included a clinical target of 5 to 10 percent weight loss for each participant. However, they found these interventions often resulted in only a 2 to 3 percent weight loss in Black women participants.
Additionally, there was little consistency among the studies’ interventions as they varied widely in design, selection, and approach. Some weight loss treatments focused on the centrality of faith and religion in Black life, while others focused on economic contexts, social norms, or structural barriers to food and physical activity.
Dr. Carr and Dr. Barlow argue that weight loss interventions for Black women must take a more holistic approach grounded in Black feminism and womanism. They suggest future research investigators utilize a participant-guided process, where individuals are empowered to create change in their own lives.
“This approach aligns with modern discourse on the value of cocreating public health interventions with participants, moving toward more participatory, community-engaged research,” the authors write. “Interventions designed with Black women for Black women will be important to generate holistic solutions for weight loss.”