Obesity: The Stress of Being a Black Woman in America

Written by: The Fabulous Five (aka: group 3).
Anouh Phanthavong, Austin J. Blount, Eliya Matz, Jonathan Gonzales, and Hashmiyah Alkhars.           

 At this point in time it is relatively well-known that obesity in the United States of America is, simply put, an issue. This fact about our fair country is particularly embarrassing given that globally we single handedly spend the most money on health care, yet have some of the worst health outcomes. One of these terrible health outcomes is the aforementioned obesity rates. There are quite a few different factors that contribute to this. These include, but are not limited to, certain racial/ethnic groups, individual attitudes, and general access to things that support good health (CDC, 2010).

            Before diving into some common causes of obesity it should be made clear what exactly that is. There is a key difference between being obese and being overweight. One being something that you should keep an eye on and the other becoming a health concern, putting you at risk for certain diseases and dangers (e.g. high blood pressure and heart attacks). The two are often used interchangeably, this incorrectly. Supposedly the way to delineate between the two is by using the Body Mass Index or “BMI” formula. Generally the decision of whether a person is obese or not is determined by comparing the results of said BMI formula to a number that has been deemed an appropriate result and one that is not. According to the World Health Organization, those numbers are: 25≤ is overweight while 30≤ is obese (WHO, 2014). That is a very small window and is based on a number scale system ranging from 1-100.

           This system of measurement is indeed flawed, because it has such a small range and isn’t based on an individual’s body. This is easily explained by the fact that the BMI formula was created by a mathematician, not a medical health professional. Interestingly enough the BMI formula was not actually created to measure the amount of “bad” fat in any person. As stated by National Public Radio, “He produced the formula to give a quick and easy way to measure the degree of obesity of the general population to assist the government in allocating resources” (NPR, 2009). So, take what you will with a grain of salt.

            Having grasped an understanding of what obesity actually is it is vital in going forward to look at who this effects the most. Even if we can see that the way obesity is measured may be flawed, the importance of recognizing certain health risks in communities across the nation still stands. As mentioned in the first paragraph there are a few common factors that often play a role in certain folks becoming obese. Again, those include, but are not limited to, racial/ethnic groups, individual attitudes, and access (CDC, 2010). All of these things can greatly influence an individual’s ability become obese or not. Someone’s attitude it personal. The other two can be tied to minorities. Certain people from both of these examples would be affected the most by this because they are the ones the current system is in place to not benefit. In terms of race/ethnicity, the most affected would be minorities. This would, in the USA, be generally put as non-white people. In terms of access, this could be anyone from non-white people, to low income folks, to disabled people. These factors would be considered out social determinants of health. The ways in which your economic or social conditions affect your overall health status as well as your ability to improve it.

            When looking at how to address this issue it is necessary to look at which kinds of people are affected the most by this. According to the CDC, “In most of the states examined, blacks had the highest prevalence (number of existing cases in a defined group of people during a specific time period) of obesity, followed by Hispanics, and then whites” (CDC, 2010). Other racial groups such as Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native are often not included these measurements made open to the public. Not because it doesn’t also effect those communities, but because these studies focus on who experiences the brunt of these issues. Having said that, it is clear to the CDC, and the rest of us, that the community most affected by obesity are African-Americans. Interestingly enough, even though in the other two racial groups the rates of obesity between men and women was relatively equal, the same cannot be said for African Americans. According to the image below, provided by the CDC, from 2006-2008 at 39.2% African-American women experienced 7.6% more cases of obesity than African-American men.

(Image from:)

This is when those social determinants of health come knocking on your door. The chart is indicating already that being a certain race puts you at the highest risk of falling victim to obesity. However, it also indicates that you can be affected on more than one axis. In this case being both a Black person and a woman. In addition to this there is a lot of pressure on women in the African-American to perform a certain way that just isn’t there for me. That isn’t to say that Black men don’t have their hardships, but in this situation those hardships are not causing as high rates of obesity. Some causes of why Black women might be affected the most by this, in terms of societal/community expectations would be, “… black women often buffer themselves from the chronic stress of racism and supporting entire family systems though high calorie "comfort food" as written in the American Journal of Public Health by James Jackson, from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research (Dingfelder, 2013).

            This makes painfully clear that there are certain systems of oppression in place that quite literally effect health. The idea that stress is one of the main causes of obesity among African-American woman is troubling to think about, but very true. It is known among health professionals that one of the many reasons for overeating or choosing bad foods to eat is because of stress. In other cases it can also be a lack of access, and in this case it’s quite possible that it’s a combination of both.

            Since it is more difficult than it should be to enforce/create policies that would change this on a national level (i.e. eradicate racism), it is necessary to look within communities for the best ways to support each other.  A good way to do this are to create community run programs designed specifically to support Black women in a way that works the best for them. An example of this would be, “Empowering black women to lead healthier lives is precisely the goal of "Prime TimeSister Circles," a 12-week program developed by former Assistant Surgeon General Marilyn Gaston, MD, and clinical psychologist Gayle Porter, PhD. So far, their program has helped more than 2,000 women lead healthier lives in Chicago, Philadelphia, Tampa, Fla., and Orlando, and throughout Maryland and the greater Washington, D.C., area” (Dingfelder, 2013).

            This program touches upon so many important points that contribute to good health. It encourages the woman to be open about the stress that they may be feeling. Open dialogue is often much more productive than eating something that will only briefly comfort you. It also involved encouraging the woman to acknowledge what aspects of their personal identities they may feel like inhibit their ability to be healthy, for example one woman stated during the program that, “As Christian women, we're taught that taking care of our own health is selfish” (Dingfelder, 2013). It also teaches the women that a good way to track what you’re buying to potentially comfort yourself with later is to confide in those closest to you that you may need the occasional reminder. If that means having your grandson remove a bag of Cheetos or two from the cart at the grocery store, then so be it. It seems to be successful, because as indicated in the paragraph before this one, it has managed to help over 2,000 women lead healthier lives. That is a stupendously effective outcome.

            Taking this program into consideration, it further solidifies that obesity among African-American women is indeed a winnable battle, though a battle indeed. The way that our society is built does not currently allow us to completely eliminate the systems of oppression that are already in place. However, it does give us the ability to not create new ones and to find better ways to deal with the impacts of the ones that currently exist. Racism, sexism, and misogynoir alike are all things that affect Black women. These are some of the biggest things that contribute to the stress of being a Black woman in America. And since we now know that stress is high on the list of indicators to become obese, because this leads to making poor health choices, we know that this a problem that can be managed. As long as we can make sure to help support Black women in their missions to manage the stress of merely existing, we can be sure to lessen the rate of obesity among them as whole (Dingfelder, 2013).