Objective: We compared fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, physical activity
(PA), and overweight/ obesity among Black and White females attending two- and
four-year colleges. Methods: We recruited 24,055 students at six colleges in
the Southeast to complete an online survey, yielding 4840 responses (20.1%
response rate). The current analyses focused on the 2276 Black and White
females. Results: Binary
logistic regression analyses indicated that recommended FV intake among White
females was associated with greater extraversion (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.05, 95%
Confidence Interval [CI] 1.00, 1.11, p = 0.05) and greater conscientiousness
(OR = 1.08, CI 1.02, 1.14, p = 0.01), whereas among Black females correlates
included greater openness to experience (OR = 1.08, CI 1.01, 1.15, p = 0.03).
Ordinal logistic regression analyses indicated that, among White females,
greater PA was associated with attending a four-year college (Beta = 0.27, CI
0.01, 0.53, p = 0.04), whereas among Black females, correlates were with
younger age (Beta = -0.01, CI -0.17, -0.03, p = 0.003) and greater emotional
stability (Beta = 0.07, CI 0.01, 0.13, p = 0.02). Binary logistic regression
analyses indicated that, among White females, being overweight or obese was
associated with older age (OR = 1.08, CI 1.01, 1.16, p = 0.03), attending a
two-year college (OR = 1.62, CI 1.22, 2.16, p = 0.001), and lower satisfaction
with life (OR = 0.96, CI 0.94, 0.98, p = 0.002), whereas among Black females,
being overweight or obese was associated with older age (OR = 1.87, CI 1.10,
1.28, p < 0.001). Conclusions:
Identifying factors related to obesity-related factors is critical in developing
interventions targeting factors associated with overweight and obesity among
Black and White females attending two- and four-year colleges. Moreover,
understanding different college settings and the contextual factors associated
with overweight/obesity is critical.