Dietary intake, perceptions regarding body weight, and attitudes toward weight control of normal weight, overweight, and obese Black females in a rural village in South Africa.

OBJECTIVES: To determine dietary intake and attitude toward weight control of normal weight, overweight, and obese Black women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Rural village in KwaZulu province, South Africa. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample (N=187) of 25- to 55-year-old women, of whom 28.9% (N=54) were of normal weight, 41.2% (N=77) were overweight, and 29.9% (N=56) were obese. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dietary intake, attitude toward weight control, perceived causes of overweight, perceived health risks, and self-reported health status. RESULTS: Dietary intake did not differ among the three groups. Overweight and obese women did not view weight control differently than women of normal weight. Most women were unconcerned about their weight. Only 2% of overweight and 30% of obese women thought they were too fat. Most women (96%) agreed that obesity was caused by biological disorders, while 39% and 9% agreed that it was caused by poor eating habits and eating too much food, respectively. Most women did not recognize the relationship between food consumed and degenerative diseases. Compared to normal-weight and overweight women, obese women had a significantly higher prevalence of self-reported high blood pressure and suffered more from back pain. CONCLUSIONS: Most of these rural women were unconcerned about their weight and most overweight and obese women did not want to lose weight. The acceptance of overweight and obesity can hinder the effectiveness of weight control programs. A special attempt should be made to target such programs to rural woman.