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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2012)
D ecem ber 12, 2012_______________________________ ^ n r tía tlh @faggrUer _______________________ Page 7 Finding Creative Ways to Combat Obesity Campaigns reflect emerging priorities (AP) — Nicole Ari Parker was motivated by frustration. For Star Jones, it was a matter of life or death. Toni Carey wanted a fresh start after a bad breakup. All three have launched indi vidual campaigns that reflect an emerging priority for African-Ameri can women: finding creative ways to combat the obesity epidemic that threatens their longevity. African-American women have the highest obesity rate of any group of Americans. Four out of five black women have a body mass index above 25 percent, the threshold for being overweight or obese, accord ing to the Centers for Disease Con trol and Prevention. By compari son, nearly two-thirds of Americans overall are in this category, the CDC said. Calorie-rich, traditional soul food is a staple in the diets of many Afri can-Americans, and curvy black women are embraced positively through slang praising them as "thick" with a "little meat on their bones," or through songs like the Commodore's "Brick House" or "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child. A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Washington Post earlier this year found that 66 percent of overweight black women had high self-esteem, while 41 per cent of average-sized or thin white women had high self-esteem. Still, that doesn't mean black women reject the need to become healthier. Historically black, all-female Television personality Star Jones has launched a campaign that reflect an emerging trend among African American women: Finding creative ways to combat the obesity epidemic that poses a threat to their longevity. Spelman College in Atlanta is dis- banding its NCAA teams and de voting those resources to a cam- pus-wide wellness program. In an open letter announcing Spelman’s "wellness revolution," president Beverly Daniel Tatum cited a cam pus analysis that found many of Spelman’s 2,100 students already have high blood pressure. Type 2 diabetes or other chronic ailments. "Spelman has an opportunity to change the health trajectory of our students and, through their influ ence, the communities from which they come," Tatum's letter said. Jones, who underwent open heart surgery in 2010 at age 47 and now urges awareness about heart dis ease among black women, was met by an overflow crowd earlier this year when she convened a Con gressional Black Caucus Founda tion panel on black women and obe sity. "We have to get ourselves out of being conditioned to think that us ing soft words so we don't hurt peoples' feelings is doing them any favor," Jones said. "Curvy, big boned, hefty, full-figured, fluffy, chubby. Those are all words de signed to make people feel better about themselves. That wasn't help ful to me." Jones once embraced being large and fabulous, at 5 feet 5 inches tall and 300 pounds. But under that exterior, she said, she was morbidly obese, suffering from extreme fa tigue, nausea, lightheadedness, heart palpitations and blurred vi sion. The attorney and TV person ality also had gastric bypass sur gery in 2003. Now, she advises women to make simple changes such as reducing salt intake, exercising 30 minutes a day, quitting smoking, controlling portion sizes and making nutritious dietary choices. Nutritionist and author Rovenia M. Brock, known professionally as Dr. Ro, agrees with Jones. She said getting active is only about 20 per cent of the fight against obesity. The rest revolves around how much people eat. "Our plates are killing us," she said. The spark for this current interest among black women may have been comments last year by Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, who ob served publicly that women must stop allowing concern about their hair to prevent them from exercis ing. Some black women visit salons as often as every two weeks, invest ing several hours and anywhere from $50 to hundreds of dollars each visit — activity that, according to the Black Owned Beauty Supply Asso ciation, helps fuel a $9 billion black hair care and cosmetics industry. In an interview during a health conference in W ashington last week, Benjamin said the damage sweat can inflict on costly hairstyles can affect women's willingness to work out, and she hopes to change that. She goes to beauty industry conferences to encourage stylists to create exercise-friendly hairdos. "I wouldn't say we use it as an excuse, we use it as a barrier," Ben jamin said. "And that's not one of the barriers anymore. We're always going to have problems with bal ancing our lives, but we could take that one out." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ THE_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ SPINACOLUMN An ongoing series of questions and answers about America’s natural healing profession. Part 32. Associated Pain : Is my leg pain related to my recent back injury? QA Dr. Billy R. Flowers : Sharp pain radiating from you back down one leg can be a result of a pinched nerve in the spine. Herniated discs and bone spurs are two of the most pinched nerve in the spine. Disc in the spine function like shock absorbers; and they can be come damaged from an injury or nor mal use. Your leg pain is likely related to a problem in your lumbar spine, although it is hard to pinpoint exactly what trig gered your pain. You might have had a pre-existing condition made worse by a recent injury. The good news is this type o f pain often resolves on its own or with chiropractic treatm ent. If the pain lasts longer than a few weeks, or if you have noticeable weakness in your leg or foot, talk to a doctor about getting an MRI. Flowers' Chiropractic Office 2124 NE Hancock, Portland Oregon 97212 Phone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 -5 3 0 4
