“I'm a Teenager I'm Not Gonna be a Health Freak”: Urban Female Adolescents Perceptions of Health and Health Related Behaviors

American children are experiencing a health crisis. Approximately 1/3 are overweight/obese, causing an increase in diabetes, hypertension, and other weight-related illnesses. Many children engage in more screen time (television/computer) than physical activity. Meals are often high in fat and cholesterol and do not meet recommended dietary standards. Urban girls-of-color not only have greater rates of sedentary behaviors and obesity, but are at increased risk of obesity-related health problems. Consequently, health professionals have increased efforts to intervene with this population on healthy lifestyles.

In an effort to better understand the health perceptions of urban adolescent girls-of-color, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 girls during 2006. Questions focused on their healthy and unhealthy practices as well as their definitions of both individual and family health. Conversations were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative approach. Data revealed that girls defined individual health in terms of physical and psychosocial characteristics and that girls' perceptions of health practices were frequently influenced by both the media and their mothers. While many girls demonstrated accurate health knowledge, they varied on their perceptions of what constituted healthy practices for themselves. Several girls incorrectly perceived their eating and exercise habits as being healthy when they clearly were not. Finally, a few girls reported engaging in activities that violated professional health recommendations.

Findings suggest that while urban girls-of-color have a working knowledge of healthy behaviors, many still do not embrace them. Implications for future research and the development of health promotion strategies and campaigns will be discussed.