African American College Freshmen Research Articles

Momentary Physical Activity Co-Occurs with Healthy and Unhealthy Dietary Intake in African American College Freshmen.

Background: Research investigating interrelations between physical activity and dietary intake has primarily used retrospective, summary-based measures of behavior subject to increased recall bias. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods with accelerometry to determine within-day, momentary associations between physical activity and dietary intake behaviors in African American college freshmen. Methods: Participants (N = 50) completed a dietary EMA protocol that assessed food/fluids consumed over the past 2 h at five random times per day and wore an activPAL accelerometer for 7 days to measure physical activity. Physical activity was operationalized as step counts in the 2 h prior to the EMA prompt (matching the EMA recall window). Results: On occasions when participants took more steps than was typical for them in the 2 h prior to the EMA prompt, they were more likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages (OR = 1.37, p < 0.001), water (OR = 1.28, p < 0.001), fruit (OR = 1.44, p < 0.001), vegetables (OR = 1.19, p = 0.02), and fried fast food (OR = 1.21, p = 0.04) over that same time. Conclusion: Momentary physical activity co-occurred with momentary consumption of both healthy and unhealthy dietary intake. These behavioral interrelations suggest potential implications for obesity risk and multiple health behavior change interventions in young adult African Americans.

The Bleaching Syndrome Among People of Color

ABSTRACT In the aftermath of mass migrations from Europe, most Americans have been of European descent, i.e., “white.” From said migration light skin evolved as the American ideal not irrelevant to people of color. Using a sample of African-American college freshmen, hypotheses were formulated to assess extent of the problem and by inference the Bleaching Syndrome. According to these data, there is a statistically significant relationship between self-identified skin color correlated with light skin providing evidence of the Bleaching Syndrome (the conscious awareness of the cognitive and attitudinal levels of the similarities and differences between the dominant group mainstream and dominated out-group to negate one's self for the purposes of assimilation). Those who study people of color are then challenged to decipher the maze of tradition and create a suitable climate for the study of human behavior in the social environment. In this they will accommodate social justice and an overall ability of diverse groups to assimilate.

Interest in Testing for Genetic Susceptibility to Lung Cancer among Black College Students “At Risk” of Becoming Cigarette Smokers

Receptivity to genetic testing for lung cancer susceptibility was assessed among African American college freshmen, who held attitudes favorable towards or had experimented with cigarette smoking. Students (n = 95) completed a telephone survey that assessed beliefs about genetics and lung cancer risk, interest in genetic testing, and expectations about the test outcome. Interest in being tested was moderately high (mean, 5; SD, 2.2; scale of 1-7) and highest among those who believed lung cancer was influenced by genetics (r = 0.22, P < 0.05) and those who expected to be at high risk (r = 0.27, P < 0.05). Overall, 34% thought if tested, the result would show high risk for lung cancer. In multivariate analyses, students' test result expectation was the only significant predictor of interest in testing. Those who believed the test would show them to be at higher risk were thrice more likely to be interested in testing than those who thought the test would show that they were at lower risk (odds ratio, 2.99; confidence interval, 1.03-8.64; P = 0.04). Future research is needed to understand how young adults will respond to genetic susceptibility feedback that confirms or contradicts their expectations about personal risks of smoking.