Major Finding: Women had significantly higher mean scores than men on the specific measure of “drive for thinness” (mean of 4.3 vs. 1.8 and 4.0 vs. 2.2 for white and black participants, respectively), and on the specific measure of “body dissatisfaction” (mean of 10.2 vs. 5.0 and 10.9 vs. 5.5 for white and black participants, respectively), but the scores did not differ significantly between whites and blacks.
Data Source: An analysis of data from a clinical trial examining a combined pharmacologic and behavioral intervention for smoking cessation.
Disclosures: The main investigator reported that neither she nor her colleagues had relevant conflicts to disclose.
General and smoking-specific weight concerns were more common among white women than among white men and black men and women preparing to quit smoking, but weight concerns were prevalent in all of the groups, according to a study of 301 individuals enrolled in the Chicago STOP Smoking trial.
For example, black women had the highest scores for “body dissatisfaction,” and their scores in regard to smoking-specific weight concerns were statistically similar to those of white women. Men also had substantial smoking-specific weight concerns, which were defined as the belief that smoking can be used for weight control and that quitting smoking leads to weight gain, Lisa A.P. Sánchez-Johnsen, Ph.D., and her colleagues in the department of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago reported online in Addictive Behaviors.
The findings, some of which contradict conventional wisdom about cultural differences in weight and body image between black and white adults, suggest that both groups have specific concerns about weight and body image that could be important in the development of smoking-cessation programs, the investigators said.
Participants were 73 black women, 46 black men, 90 white women, and 92 white men. Overall, general weight concerns (defined by summated scores on the drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory–2, and the restraint factor of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) were more common in white vs. black participants, and female vs. male participants, but no race by sex interactions were found, the investigators reported (Addict. Behav. 2010 Aug. 6 [doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.08.001
Women had significantly higher mean scores (after controlling for age, body mass index, socioeconomic status, and cigarettes smoked per day) than did men on the specific measure of “drive for thinness” (mean, 4.3 vs. 1.8 and 4.0 vs. 2.2 on a 1-6 scale for white and black participants, respectively), and on the specific measure of “body dissatisfaction” (mean, 10.2 vs. 5.0 and 10.9 vs. 5.5 on a 0-21 scale for white and black participants, respectively), but the scores did not differ significantly between whites and blacks.
White women did, however, have significantly higher scores on the measure of “cognitive restraint,” which refers to the degree to which people consciously monitor and control their food intake (9.5 vs. 5.6, 6.7, and 5.4 on a 0-21 scale for white men, black women, and black men, respectively). This measure might include a cognitive and behavioral component, unlike other dimensions of weight concerns measured in the study, the investigators reported.
Smoking-specific weight concerns also were highest in white women, but the differences were significant only between white women and white and black men (respective scores, 7.7, 6.0, and 6.3). Black women had substantial smoking-specific weight concerns (score, 6.8).
The findings could be key to the development of smoking-cessation programs that address weight concerns for black and white men and women, the researchers concluded.