Learning Objective #1: Identify how overweight has arrived at epidemic levels in children in the United States

Learning Objective #2: Identify major health risks associated with overweight and obesity

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Obesity tends to increase in African American females relative to their White American counterparts during adolescence. Despite the disparity in African American adolescent females, there are very few studies that have been attentive to interventions directed toward this group. This study is assessing the effectiveness of a nursing intervention that combines nutrition, physical activity, and group support for the purpose of assisting African American female adolescents to reach their personal weight loss goals. The efficacy of the 16-week program will be determined by comparing pre and post measures of weight, blood pressure, body mass index, and cholesterol level, as well as comparing scores on self-esteem, depression, and body image scales. Furthermore, this study is exploring outcome variations and will compare the efficacy of the intervention across two different group conditions characterized by different degrees of parental support. The study consists of 20 adolescent participants in the southeastern region of Virginia.