Magazines' weight-loss advice analyzed

EAST LANSING , Mich., Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Women's magazines may fall short in helping readers -- especially African-Americans -- lose weight, a U.S. study suggests.

The study, published in Health Communication, found more than 83 percent of weight-loss stories focus on changing individual behavior and only 7 percent examine factors such as the availability or cost of healthy foods or fitness programs.

"We blame individuals too much for circumstances that are not entirely within their control," study co-author Shelly Campo of the University of Iowa in Iowa City said in a statement. "We know people living in unsafe neighborhoods are much less likely to exercise. And fast food is cheap compared to fresh fruit and vegetables. To tell a poor person that they made a bad choice because they couldn't afford the salad fixings raises some ethical concerns."

Campo and Teresa Mastin of Michigan State University in East Lansing analyzed 406 fitness and nutrition articles published from 1984 to 2004 in six women's magazines -- three mainstream women's magazine and three aimed at African-American women. The study determined the African-American magazines were more likely to promote fad diets and less likely to offer proven strategies such as eating more whole grains.