D ecem ber 12, 2012_______________________________
^ n r tía tlh @faggrUer
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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