Relationship of physical activity, self-esteem levels, and selected nutrient intake with obesity in EFNEP women

The study was conducted to determine the relationship of physical activity,self-esteem, and dietary intake (kilocalories, fiber, calcium, iron, vitamin A,vitamin C, and vitamin E with obesity in 65 low-income EFNEP women.Participants were assigned to either non-obese or obese group based on 8MIcalculation with 28 in the non-obese group and 37 in the obese group. A familyrecord, three-repeat random 24-hour food recalls, a 24-hour physical activity anda self-esteem questionnaire were collected from each participant. Descriptivestatistics, ANOVA, and MANOVA and simple t-tests were calculated (P < 0.05).Results suggest that non-obese and obese low-income women consume similaramounts of kilocalories and inadequate intakes of the same nutrients (fiber,calcium and vitamin E) and have very similar levels of self-esteem. They alsohave similar energy expenditure with very little planned or deliberate exercise,except that the obese group had significantly more energy expenditure in theinactive leisure-time category (P = 0.016). Calories consumed and energyexpenditures were similar for obese women, but the non-obese women hadsignificantly higher energy expenditure than caloric intake (P = 0.012).