Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
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Exposure to physical and policy environments that limit availability, affordability and appeal of healthy eating and active living options is higher for U. S. blacks than whites. This may contribute to high risk of obesity in black communities and limit effectiveness of preventive interventions. ⋯ Only 33 study groupings (~8%) included ≥ 50% black Americans or reported subgroup analyses. Of 10 evaluation studies for interventions rated as effective for all populations in the primary review, 8 suggested effectiveness of child-focused interventions in school or child care settings for obesity- or physical activity-related outcomes in black Americans. Overall findings highlight the need for rigorous evaluations of interventions that reach black children in community or institutional settings, and conceptual frameworks and research designs geared to identifying ethnic or ethnicity-income group differences in intervention effects.