The Killer of Black Women

Socioeconomic Status According to the Association of Black Nursing Faculty(ABNF) at Fayetteville State University, studies have shown that when a person's economical status lowers then weight is likely to increase. In a July 2003 report preformed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the number of black women who have entered the workforce since 1990 has only increased by 41 percent versus the 100 percent increase by white women.

The Fast Food Culture Fast food is relatively inexpensive versus its heathier counterparts. According to the ABNF, the average American has at least one meal from a fast food restaurant everyday. Fast food is loaded with trans fats which an industrial created to make oils( usually used to fry foods) more solid.

Inactivity Most Americans spend a significant amount of time being inactive. More than one third of Americans spend most of their day sitting. According to the Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS), only 1 in 5 Americans engage in some form of physical activity during the day.

Marital Status Black women are less likely to marry out of any other group of women. The HHS has found that married women are more likely to engage in exercise then unmarried women.

"The Beauty Myth" The Beauty Myth is the idea that there is only one standard of beauty. The Beauty Myth is enforced by the lack of minorities in mainstream advetisements. Since black women rarel see themselves in advertisements they usual ignore the beauty myth. Ignoring the beauty myth entirely can be dangerous, however. Black women may not be aware that they are obese because they are comparing themselves to the unrealistic images they see of white women.

Weight gain is not as sanctioned in the black community as it is in other communities. Curvaous bodies are usually valued amongst black men and women. Although only 5.6 percent of characters featured in prime time televison are black, most black women usually ignore what they see on television, according to a 2004 study prefromed by the University of Michigan and the Psychology of Women Quarterly. Racism The large amount of obese women in the United States may also have to do witht the lack of knowledge amongst black women about obesity. According to Reuters Health, the percentages of black and white women who only have high school degrees have limited knowledge about BMI are the same, but the percentage of black women who know about BMI with a college degree is lower then white women with a college degree. The lack of knowing about BMI and obesity may explain why black women's weight increases with their increases in education. Black women, with college degrees, have an BMI average of 31, while white women with college degrees have an BMI average of 27.

The Affects of Racism The correlation between the rise of obesity and the rise of education amongst black women may be influenced by racism. In 2004, Reuters Health surveyed 2,017 women. Half of the women were black in the survey and half were white. The survey concluded that more black women with college degrees are more stressed then white women. There were also a high number of black women who felt that their race played a part in job promotions, salaries, lack of respect etc., on the job. Since stress is related to weight gain, it is easier for degree holding black women to become obese.

Work Discrimination Studies have shown that obese people are discriminated the most in the workforce. The American Obesity Association, has found that applicant weight explained 34.6 percent of variance in hiring decesions whereas sex explained only a 10.6 percent variance. A study of over 2000 women showed that obesity lowered the wage growth by 6 percent. Obese women earn about 12 percent less then their non obese counterparts.

Limitations Black women are limited to the brands of clothing they wear. A lot of popular clothing companies are catered towards smaller sizes. Being classified as being obese also limits a person physical activity and life span.

Exercising Exercising is not limited to running or wasting money buying work out tapes. Hundreds of calories can be burned by preforming common activities for at least 30 minutes a day (according to the American Diabetes Association.) For example, Strolling can burn over 100 a day Walking(over 4.5 mph) burns over 150 Playing with Kids burns over 150 Biking leisurely burns over 200

Staying Away from "bad" fats Fats can be classified in four different categories: saturated, trans, monosaturated, and polyunsaturated. Saturated and trans fats are the most unhealthy forms of fats. Both fats raise the cholesterol in your blood and lower the good cholesterol. Saturated fats are found in beef, veal, lamb, pork, poultry w/skin, beer, lard, utter, cream, milk, and cheese. It is unhealthy to consume more than 7% of saturated fats a day.

Trans Fats are found in pastries, pie crusts, biscuits, pizza dough, cookies, crackers, stick margarines, and shortenings. It is unhealty to consume more than 1% of trans fats a day.

Eating more "good" fats Polyunsaturated fats(omega 6 and 3) have been proven to be beneficial to brain function and activity. They can be found in fish, vegetable oils, and soybean. 25-35% of your daily food intake should contain polyunsaturated fats.

Monosaturated fats reduce bad cholesterol, levels blood pressure and heart disease. They are also high in Vitamin E. Monosaturated fats can be found in vegetable, olive, canola, peanut, sunflower, and sesame oils as well as avocados, peanut butter, nuts and seeds. 25-35% of your daily food intake should contain monosaturated fats.


GOOD FATS SHOULD BE EATEN IN MODERATION!

Sometimes eating fast food can't be prevented. Everyone has days where they are busy and need to get a quick meal. Although there aren't any fast foods that are completely healthy, some meals contain more calories than others. At www.fatcalories.com you can find the best and worse meals to eat at fast foods restaurants.

Knowing about obesity and its effects can be the best defense against the disease