Relationship Between Attitudes and Indicators of Obesity for Midlife Women

This study uses segmentation analyses to identify five distinct subgroups of U.S. midlife women (n = 200) based on their prevailing attitudes toward food and its preparation and consumption. Mean age of the women is 46 years and they are mostly White (86%), highly educated, and employed. Attitude segments (clusters of women sharing similar attitudes) are a significant predictor of obesity indicators. Mean body mass index and percentage of body fat are lower for the “concerned about nutrition ” attitude segment compared with the “guilt-ridden dieter ” and “impulsive eater ” attitude segments. Mean waist circumference is highest in “impulsive eater ” compared with the “concerned about nutrition ” segment. Those in the “busy cooking avoider ” segment have a significantly higher energy intake compared with women in other attitude segments. Tailoring a weigh