Nancy K. AmyAssociate Professor of Nutrition Professor of Nutrition and Associate Biochemist in the Agricultural Experiment Station Ph.D. (Biology), University of Virginia,1973 (510) 642-8178 |
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The focus of my research is: What is the effect of weight bias on health outcomes? I address this in two ways. The first is to study obese women’s access to health care. The second is to study factors affecting disordered eating.
Weight bias has an impact on most facets of a large person’s life, and it also negatively affects access to health care. We have been studying African American and white women to understand the needs of African American and white obese women, especially those with Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 55, concerning access to health care. The attitudes and practices of overweight women differ substantially along the spectrum of BMI, and the barriers increase in prevalence and severity with the size of the women. We aim to make healthcare community more aware of the specific needs of large people.
The second aspect of my research is to address the impact that attitudes towards fat has on students’ self-perception. The culture of thinness and almost unattainable ideal body shape that pervades our society results in problems concerning body size. Undergraduate researchers and I recently completed a research project to address the questions: Do people expressing high levels of negative attitudes toward fat people also experience higher anxiety concerning their own body? Does a person’s BMI affect his/her anxiety about how others perceive him? Do ethnic or cultural influences mediate the effect of BMI on anxiety?
Most Recent Publications
Amy, N. K., A. Aalborg, P Lyons, and L. Keranen. 2006. Barriers to routine gynecological cancer screening for obese white and African American women. International J. Obesity 30(1) 147-55.
Ikeda, J, Amy, NK, Ernsberger,P, Gaesser, GA, Berg, FM, Clark, CA, Parnam, ES, Peters, P. 2005. The National Weight Control Registry: A Critique. J. Nutr. Educ Behav. 37:203-205.