On the joint role of non-Hispanic Black race/ ethnicity and weight status in predicting postmenopausal weight gain

Objectives To determine how baseline weight status contributes to differences in postmenopausal weight gain among non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) and non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). Methods Data were included from 70,750 NHW and NHB postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI OS). Body Mass Index (BMI) at baseline was used to classify women as having normal weight, overweight, obese class I, obese class II or obese class III. Cox proportional hazards was used to estimate the hazard of a 10% or more increase in weight from baseline. Results In both crude and adjusted models, NHBs were more likely to experience =10% weight gain than NHWs within the same category of baseline weight status. Moreover, NHBs who were normal weight at baseline were most likely to experience =10% weight gain in both crude and adjusted models. Age-stratified results were consistent with overall findings. In all age categories, NHBs who were normal weight at baseline were most likely to experience =10% weight gain. Based on the results of adjusted models, the joint influence of NHB race/ethnicity and weight status on risk of postmenopausal weight gain was both sub-additive and sub-multiplicative. Conclusion NHBs are more likely to experience postmenopausal weight gain than NHWs, and the disparity in risk is most pronounced among those who are normal weight at baseline. To address the disparity in postmenopausal obesity, future studies should focus on identifying and modifying factors that promote weight gain among normal weight NHBs.