UNC Center for Health Equity Health Disparities Seminar | Aletha Akers, MD, MPH
Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/22/2013
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location
Bondurant Hall, Room G074
Category(ies)
“Fat or Fabulous: Gender and Race Effects on Sexual Risk Taking among Obese and Non-Obese Adolescents.”
Aletha Y. Akers, M.D. M.P.H.
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Assistant Investigator, Magee Women’s Research Institute
Magee-Women’s Hospital
3:00pm-4:00pm
Tuesday October 22nd, 2013
Bondurant Hall, Room G074
The prevalence of obesity among adolescents is more than 30%, which reflects a 6-fold increase over the past four decades. In addition to its negative effect on physical health, mounting evidence demonstrates that obesity adversely effects romantic relationship formation. Most notably, obesity has been associated with higher rates of engagement in sexual risk behaviors among adolescent females, with differences among racial groups. These differences may help to explain variations in rates of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections among women and minority groups. This presentation will examine the literature linking obesity and sexual risk behaviors highlighting how gender and race-based beauty norms may account for these differences.