Black Women and Obesity

Many might have probably noticed that there are far more obese Black girls than Caucasian girls. There is a wide variety of alleged reasons behind this observation.

Listen to a podcast by Debra Dickerson (a columnist) and a blogger on Black women’s inclination to obesity because of the motivation of African-American men. - NPR

However, there’s this one myth that definitely needs to be straightened out no matter the reason behind why there’s so many full-figured Black women - Black women have healthier view of weight and other health-related issues.

It’s an article of politically correct faith that fat acceptance among black women is something to be applauded. When a study found that black girls are less inclined to exercise than their white peers, for example, the Boston Herald gave the results an undeserved positive spin: “black girls may exercise less … because they aren’t as driven to emulate stick-thin role models popularized by the media.” The article quoted 16-year-old Ebony Smith seconding that sentiment: “You don’t hear that black girls are anorexic.”

No, you don’t. You also don’t hear that nearly 50% of black women are obese, a figure that contributes to the nearly 77% rate of overweight — both of which are significantly higher than rates among white women (which, at 31% obese and 56% overweight, are also pretty dismal).
In light of these extraordinary figures, is it really a good thing that 72% of black women view themselves as slimmer than they really are, according to a study published in the October 2000 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology? I don’t think so. Particularly as obesity drives so many of the illnesses that disproportionately affect blacks. Type II diabetes, for example, is 70% more prevalent

Read more about these Black women’s health myths.

Tags: Black women, Black woman obesity

[image from flickr]