(Akiit.com) HARTFORD, Conn. — The idea of strolling the beach in a bikini isn’t what motivates Sandra Mosby to bake her chicken rather than frying it, or to lightly season her collard greens rather than dropping in a fatty ham hock.
For Mosby and a growing number of black women, developing healthy habits and losing weight is less about satisfying her vanity and more about strengthening her Christianity.
Several recent studies throughout the U.S. have concluded that the all-about-you mentality of many mainstream diet programs doesn’t resonate with black women whose focus lies in strengthening their families, communities and churches.
Now, there’s a new approach: Rather than pushing black women to adapt to those programs, researchers are developing new programs that emphasize improving health as a pathway to better serving God.
“A lot of the existing weight-loss programs are designed and developed for typical middle-class white women,” said Judith Fifield, a professor in the University of Connecticut’s medical school at the UConn Health Center.
“A lot of the traditional weight-loss messages are, ‘It’s all about you,’ whereas a lot of African-American women are so committed to caring for their families and serving the church that they aren’t used to putting themselves first,” she said.
Mosby is a prime example. Juggling her college classes, close-knit family and involvement at Bethel A.M.E. Church made it easy for the Hartford resident to fall into unhealthy eating habits.
Mosby and her mother, Frances Mosby, have changed their approach to food and health as participants in SisterTalk Hartford. That program’s sessions are modeled on research by Brown University in Providence, which tested the concept a few years ago with SisterTalk programs on cable television in Greater Boston.
Now, Mosby and her mother scrutinize food labels, take brisk walks with friends and cook with seasonings and spices in place of fatty flavorings.
Religious themes underpin all of the SisterTalk lessons, using the experiences and teachings of Jesus Christ and other Bible figures to provide support. And rather than focusing on specific numbers on the scale or dress sizes, it emphasizes healthy habits for women of all sizes and body types.
“We know that we all fall down, but we’re motivated by the lessons and by each other to get up and go on,” said Sandra Mosby, whose church was one of 12 in greater Hartford who participated in a recent study of the program’s effectiveness.
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