Ethnic Identity Attachment and Motivation for Weight Loss and Exercise Among Rural, Overweight, African-American Women

Rural and minority women are disproportionately impacted by the obesity epidemic; however, little research has studied the intersection of these disparity groups. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of racial identity on motivation for weight loss and exercise among rural, African-American women with an obesity-linked chronic disease. A total of 154 African-American women were recruited from the patient population of a Federally Qualified Health Center in the rural South to complete a questionnaire battery including the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and separate assessments of motivation for weight loss and exercise. Multivariate analyses, controlling for age, education status, insurance status, and body mass index revealed that attachment to ethnic identity was predictive of motivation for exercise but not for weight loss. Our findings suggest that attachment to ethnic identity may be an important factor in motivation for change among African-American women, particularly with respect to exercise, with direct implications for the development of culturally and geographically tailored weight loss interventions.