Perceptions of Health Among Black Women in Emerging Adulthood: Alignment With a Health at Every Size Perspective.

Objective: To explore the health perceptions of Black women in emerging adulthood and the degree to which perceptions align with core Health at Every Size (HAES) principles.
Design: Semistructured interviews with Black women in emerging adulthood. Data were collected between June and July 2018 as part of a larger, mixed-methods study.
Setting: Southern California.
Participants: Forty-one Black women aged 18-24 years were recruited via a combination of convenience and respondent-drive sampling.
Phenomenon of Interest: Health perceptions of young Black women and alignment with core HAES principles.
Analysis: Data were analyzed using principles of inductive thematic analysis. Following analysis, data were further interpreted within the HAES framework.
Results: Participants' insights resulted in 3 main themes: (1) health is multidimensional, (2) good health means taking care of yourself, and (3) systemic and environmental disparities affect Black women's health. These themes reflect 3 HAES principles of health enhancement, weight inclusivity, and eating for well-being.
Conclusions and Implications: Findings provide preliminary support for aligning HAES principles and perceptions and health for Black women in emerging adulthood. Prioritizing holistic well-being, attention to individualized health needs and access to needed information and resources in efforts to improve health outcomes among members of this demographic may be promising.
(Copyright © 2022 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)