ErinYWOCLC
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I’m currently working on my Master’s thesis project on the topic of obesity in college students and I wondered whether obesity was caused predominately by genetics or behavior. I thought about my own status and I would consider myself a little thick as well as many of the women on my paternal side of the family. Black women, in general, are known for their curves: having hips, thick thighs, big butts and in my humble opinion, black women carry extra weight and thickness well.
However, our definition of thick and curvaceous is usually actually clinically overweight and obese. Considering the definition of a BMI greater than 25, this puts many women of color into one of these two categories. According to the Office of Minority Health, 4 out of 5 African American/ Black women are overweight or obese. An overwhelming 80% of us are much heavier than we should be. Along with our desirable curves comes, a multitude of chronic health problems that we as young women may not suffer from the effects of in our 20's, but are inevitable in our 30's, 40's, 50's and contribute to early death within our communities.
I came home to Brooklyn, NY for the holidays and it’s the first time that I noticed a contrast from my mostly white neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia. Besides the obvious racial differences, the amount of fast food restaurants in Brooklyn had grown. McDonald’s, Burger King, Kennedy Fried Chicken are noticeably absent in many white and upper class neighborhoods, while they are planted on every block in black, Hispanic, and lower income communities. However, just because our urban neighborhoods are overrun with greasy fast food, doesn’t mean that we have to patronize them.
Whether or not, we are genetically heavier than our white counterparts, we do have control over adapting healthy behaviors. As beautiful women of color, we spend hours and hundreds of dollars on our hair, now let’s take care of our bodies with the same attentiveness. 20 minutes of walking a day makes a world of a difference. Switching to 2% milk from half and half in your coffee isn’t that noticeable in taste. Comedian (and Golden Globe Nominee!) Monique, the Queen of "Skinny Women are Evil", has even emerged with a new talk show and 45 lbs lighter. Still a plus sized woman, she looks fabulous, curvy, beautiful and healthier. We can be size 0 or a size 16 because beauty comes in all shapes and sizes but regardless of that size we should all have a clean bill of health.
As the holidays approach, enjoy the festivities and the comfort food with loved ones, but everything in moderation... Ok… Fine… eat until your heart's content for Christmas and New Year’s, but let’s start 2010 with a new appreciation for being healthy and fit.
Happy Holidays!
First, your use of BMI as an indicator of health. While yes, BMI can be a broad indicator, many people are questioning the validity of using BMI as an indicator of health, as its simply your height and weight, with no other health factors taken into account. If you look into the history of BMI, invented over 150 years ago, it was only supposed to be a diagnostic tool for weight problems within an entire population, not an individual indicator for health. Most crucially, however, is that their categories don't accurately predict health. It's been found that people in the "overweight" category actually live longer than people in the normal weight category. These results are actually particularly strong for African American women, who live longer with a BMI that is "overweight" and many are calling the index inaccurate for African Americans.
My other concern, beyond BMI, is your portrayal of the intersection of class and race. My friend wrote an incredible post on this subject. We have to understand, that many don't have the same diversity of food options, and often the calculation is calories/dollar. As you noted, there is also often a lack of access to more quality foods in these communities. I'm sorry if I seem a little sensitibe to this issue, but whenever I read articles about the intersection of class and food, I often hear implied messages that poor people (especially poor people of color) are fat, lazy, and stupid, and I think it's important to be very clear that this is untrue.
Sorry this comment ended up being as long as your post, good luck with your thesis!
Happy Holidays and thanks for your comments!
You bring up very valid points and I have been doing more research about BMI calculator in African Americans (currently reading: The Obesity Myth by Paul Campos). While the explanation is interesting, I'm not sure that I'm completely convinced. African Americans may have a higher threshold for clinical definitions of overweight and obesity, but it doesn't explain our (people of color) increased prevalence and mortality rates of obesity related diseases, like hypertension, diabetes, etc. in comparison to whites.
In reference to food options that poor people have access to, it certainly is limited, especially when on government assistance. But I believe food is only part the battle in being healthy, along with physical activity and health screenings. I do realize that physical activity may be another obstacle poor people face (ie. not wanting to exercise outside if they live in a bad neighborhood), but there are things everyone can do to improve their health, such as taking the stairs rather than the elevator, getting regular blood pressure readings, etc.
By no means are poor people, lazy, stupid or fat, and I hope that wasn't the tone of my blog. But I am a strong believer that everyone, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, has some control over their health and thats due to personal choices.
Thanks for reading!
I'm fascinated by your thesis and have a few questions (you may or may not have answers for them and that's totally ok, just wanted to start a convo about them):
1. I've come to realize that the terms "health" and "healthy" have replaced terms popular in the 80s and 90s such as "skinny" and "slim." That these terms around "health" continue to oppress and marginalize people of size (especially large and obese people). Have you thought about how the term "health" has been altered in this way? How are you thinking about challenging (or reinforcing?) this approach in your research?
2. Have you considered examining your topic in an INTRA-racial/cultural/ethnic lens verses and INTER-racial/cultural/ethnic way? I've read so much research that compares us, people of Color to racially White communities that I wonder what would we see if we compared ourselves to intra-communal standards? Will there be a difference? What would we discover? Why do we continue to compare ourselves to racially White people/communities? How does this reinforce white supremacy (if at all)?
3. Is there room in your research for the ideology of "healthy at every size"? If so how is it being developed and is it really inclusive of "every size"?
As a fat woman of Color, my doctors are always already shocked at how "healthy" I am when I visit them for my physicals. They assume that because of my body shape and size that I will be diabetic, have high blood pressure etc. Rarely do they consider that my mental and spiritual health keep my physical health well, that my physical activity is walking just about everywhere I go (I live in NYC and don't drive or have cab money), and that danchall music keeps me going. My physicians have NO problem telling me they are stunned I'm so "healthy" and not even "borderline" ill or having symptoms of any illness that we are told is related to obesity. Which leds me to my fourth question:
4. Have you considered physician "bed side manner" when working with clients?
5. Have you considered how stress from surviving racism, elitism, classism, ableism, and other forms of oppression is connected to maintaining/preserving cultural survival and how that is connected to food consumption and preperation?
I know it's a lot! but would love to hear your thoughts (or others) about these topics.
But at any rate, I think that our rather stingy government thinks people, even when they are fully disabled, should just pull themselves up by the bootstraps.
A small investment in food stamps means less costly health problems later. I also think there needs to be a soda/fried foods tax added to a universal healthcare system.