Abstract
Women of reproductive age (18-44 years) are at an increased risk of developing obesity due to pregnancy, stressors during this stage in the life course (e.g., leaving home, new jobs, parenthood), and historical and ongoing discrimination and marginalization. Preventing obesity for this population needs to be a public health priority. Obesity negatively affects women’s health (e.g., chronic disease, cancer); leads to poor pregnancy outcomes (e.g., gestational diabetes); and increases the risk children will develop obesity through intergenerational transmission of obesity, further entrenching health disparities for future generations. Health equity principles of social justice and human rights help obesity prevention researchers and practitioners to recognize social determinants of health; meaningfully engage with communities; ensure evidence-based programs are designed and implemented for reach, accessibility, and sustainability; facilitate measurement of complex processes (e.g., discrimination); and evaluate where evidence comes from and who it is developed for. Women of reproductive age are an understudied population. More evidence is needed on the determinants of obesity risk, factors influencing engagement with obesity prevention efforts, and how and to what extent health equity is informing obesity prevention research for women of reproductive age. Aim 1 seeks to identify gaps and opportunities for advancing health equity in obesity prevention research for women of reproductive age through a review of health equity-focused empirical obesity prevention studies. Aim 2 uses a health equity framework to identify factors beyond the individual that may be associated with obesity among a sample of ethnically diverse women. Aim 3 describes how social determinants of health influence health behaviors and engagement with an evidence-based healthy weight intervention through semi-structured interviews. These aims provide evidence for supporting health equity principles in obesity prevention research for women of reproductive age and addressing health disparities for this population.
Committee Chair
Rachel Tabak
Committee Members
Alexandra Morshed; Ana Baumann; Debra Haire-Joshu; Ross Brownson
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Author's Department
Social Work
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
4-15-2025
Language
English (en)
Recommended Citation
Gilbert, Amanda, "Supporting health equity in obesity prevention for women of reproductive age" (2025). Brown School Theses and Dissertations. 47.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.7936/e792-d231