ArticlePublic health nutrition2020
'I'd say I'm fat, I'm not obese': obesity normalisation in urban-poor South Africa.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Development and feasibility testing of a time-restricted eating intervention for women living with overweight/obesity and HIV in a resource-limited setting of South Africa.BMC public health · 2024Trial
- Evaluating implementation of the FIGO Nutrition Checklist for preconception and pregnancy within the Bukhali trial in Soweto, South Africa.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2023Trial
- Commercial interests in health policy dialogues: a qualitative content analysis of NEDLAC's engagement with South Africa's Health Promotion Levy.Globalization and health · 2026Article
- Socio-demographic determinants, mediators and moderators of body image dissatisfaction and distortion in Black South African women aged 18 years and older: SANHANES-1.BMC public health · 2026Observational
- (Un)sweetened deal? Young people's views on the South African Health Promotion Levy and food in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Non-Communicable Disease Burden and Dietary Determinants in Women of Reproductive Age in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Factors Influencing the Acceptance or Rejection of Dietary and Body Norm Systems Favorable to the Prevention and Control of Type 2 Diabetes Among Sub-Saharan Africa migrants: A Scoping Review.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- Black South Africans Who Migrate Away From Their Rural Homes and Their Chances of Having Abdominal Obesity.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025Article
- Weight status underestimation and weight management goals among adults in the rural South of the United States.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2025Article
- Global burden of hypertensive heart disease attributable to high body mass index from 1990 to 2021: a multidimensional analysis and public health response.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Knowledge, perceptions and practices towards diabetes risk in sub-Saharan Africa: a mixed-methods scoping review.Public health nutrition · 2024Article
- Perceptions of Health, Body Size, and Nutritional Risk Factors for Obesity in People with HIV in South Africa.AIDS and behavior · 2024 · on this mapArticle
- "Sometimes choices are not made, because we have 'a' choice, they're made because they are 'the' choice": Barriers to weight management for clients in rural general practice.BMC primary care · 2022Article
- The Perception of Overweight and Obesity among South African Adults: Implications for Intervention Strategies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Prognostic values of modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular events in South African health promotion.PloS one · 2022Article
- Classification of African Native Plant Foods Based on Their Processing Levels.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
- The Influence of Cultural Experiences on the Associations between Socio-Economic Status and Motor Performance as Well as Body Fat Percentage of Grade One Learners in Cape Town, South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Views of Own Body Weight and the Perceived Risks of Developing Obesity and NCDs in South African Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- A Qualitative Analysis of the Commercial Broiler System, and the Links to Consumers' Nutrition and Health, and to Environmental Sustainability: A South African Case Study.Frontiers in sustainable food systems · 2021Article
- Adolescents' understanding of obesity: a qualitative study from rural South Africa.Global health action · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIn the past decade, South Africa's obesity epidemic has increased in both children and adults, and being overweight is becoming the norm. Several contributing factors lead to the normalisation of obesity. One of these is the culturally entrenched likeness of larger body sizes or shapes within a milieu of easily accessible unhealthy food and beverages. This qualitative study advances knowledge about the influence of socio-cultural norms and obesogenic environments on weight under estimation and 'obesity normalisation' amongst black South Africans living in an urban setting.
designA theory-based qualitative study used focus group discussions (FGDs) with a semi-structured interview guide. FGDs were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using a constant comparison method.
settingSoweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, is a setting which has undergone rapid urbanisation and nutrition transition with ubiquitous availability of processed and fast-foods.
participantsAdults older than 18 years living in Soweto (n 57).
resultsThere is a wide misperception about obesity amongst black Africans living in an urban setting in Soweto. Participants who admitted to being fat or overweight did not view themselves as such. This could be attributed to unchanging socio-cultural factors that reinforce the acceptability of bigger bodies and living in obesogenic environment.
conclusionsWithout addressing socio-cultural norms that attribute bigger bodies to beauty and wealth, motivating individuals to address weight gain will prove difficult especially for populations living in obesogenic environments. A multi-faceted strategy is required to address obesity in urban South African settings.
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