A Scoping Review of Eating Behaviors Associated with Weight Status in Black American Adults.

Rates of obesity are high in Black Americans. This scoping review identified and reviewed research on eating behaviors that may influence weight status in community-dwelling Black American adults, specifically commensality, meal patterns, dietary disinhibition, dietary restraint, satiety, hunger, and cravings, and their relation to weight status. The study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement and scoping review extension. Literature in English was searched electronically to identify articles published between 1946 and October 20th, 2024 in Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, AnthropologyPlus, PsycINFO, and Race Relations. Observational and clinical studies of any duration were eligible. Thirty-one observational articles were identified. Studies included Black participants only (n = 8), and multiple racial groups with and without subgroup analysis (n = 9; 14, respectively). Most studies (n = 22) included all body mass index (BMI) weight categories, and most participants were women. The most frequent topics were dietary restraint and disinhibition (n = 18, n = 16, respectively). Dietary disinhibition had the strongest association of any eating behavior construct with weight status in mixed-race and all-Black samples, and there was no evidence for a differential relationship of disinhibition with BMI in Black versus White women. There was consistent evidence that Black women with low or normal BMI have lower levels of dietary restraint but similar levels of restraint at higher BMIs. There were insufficient data on meal patterns, commensality, satiety, hunger, and cravings in Black Americans to determine racial differences or associations with weight status. Additional research is needed to identify effective intervention points to address the obesity epidemic in Black Americans.