Obesity is not just a weight problem, it is a health crisis
Published: August 29, 2009, 7:16 am
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The numbers were already shocking: Eight out of 10 black women are either overweight or obese. But now it's worse: 40 percent are obese. And 54-year-old Susan Polite of Buffalo can be counted among them. At just 5-foot-2, Polite has weighed much as 240 pounds.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest report on obesity among adults found African Americans to have the highest rates, more than one in three are obese.
Obesity is "such a serious health problem because obesity can lead to chronic illnesses, like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and certain types of cancer," said Liping Pang, the epidemiologist who was the lead author of the CDC study.
For years Polite has struggled with some of the illnesses linked or worsened by obesity Ñ hypertension, asthma and osteoporosis. But she made no correlation between her poor health and her addiction to fast foods and sweets.
"My doctor would say that I needed to lose weight, but I thought nothing of it when I was eating; I was just enjoying what I was eating," she said.
Her thinking changed almost instantly in June when her daughter discovered her unconscious. Her blood glucose level was 1,100. She was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
"The diabetes really scared me; I was near death," she said. "The doctors were surprised that I didn't die. I just made up mind to lose the weight." Polite has shed 40 pounds in two months.
Obesity, of course, isn't a problem only among the black population. Americans of all ethnicities and races are battling the growing bulge — 29 percent of Latinos and 24 percent of whites are obese. The national obesity rate climbed to 26.1 percent in 2008, according to the CDC. And last year a record $147 billion was spent to treat obesity-related health problems because most Americans are fatter than ever, Pang said.
But African-Americans have a 51 percent higher rate of obesity than whites.
Diet issues
Catherine Lewis-Smith, director of LEWAC, a nonprofit health outreach agency that conducts educational workshops on the lower West Side and in about 25 churches on the East Side, was once overweight and has hypertension and diabetes. She got rid of the extra pounds, her illnesses are under control and she uses herself as an example to inspire other black women to get in shape.
"There's consumption of food without thought and all of sudden their weight is out of control," the 63-year-old said. "Fast foods and sodas have become dietary staples in a culture that no longer cooks at home, exacerbating the problem."
Polite said she made home-cooked meals but high in fat, like fried chicken, and when she didn't, she and her daughter would eat out at Wendy's, McDonald's and Burger King. She had a special weakness for strawberry milkshakes. And each year, Polite gained more weight.
Pang said there are various factors fueling the racial disparity when it comes to obesity. For one, blacks tend to have less access to fresh fruits and vegetables since their communities tend to have a plethora of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores and few supermarkets, selling fresh foods. And with many inner-cities plagued with crime, taking a healthy stroll through the neighborhood could become a safety issue. The authors of the study also found that black and Latino women tend to be more accepting and comfortable with their bodies.
"A person who is satisfied with their weight is less likely to try to exercise and try to lose weight," Pang said.
When 20-year-old Robin Turner, who is 4-foot-10 and 160 pounds, stares into the mirror, she's pleased.
"I love my body — my thighs, my booty," said Turner, who is Polite's daughter. "I like being thick; black women are just thicker. We've got junk in the trunk."
But Turner, who said the ideal weight for her height is between 125 and 130 pounds, would like a flatter stomach and wants to lose about 20 pounds. And her mother's illness has her seeing weight in a new light.
"I got really scared when she got diagnosed," she said. "I started thinking about my own weight and how I need to watch what I eat."
From the pulpit
The Rev. Richard Stenhouse, pastor of Bethel AME Church, has noticed that weight gain has also started plaguing some of his 500-member congregation.
The Michigan Avenue church has a health ministry and it works to help churchgoers become healthier. A personal trainer stops by once a week for an aerobics class and on Sundays Stenhouse incorporates health tips in his sermons. Health care professionals have visited and talked to the members about ways to improve their health.
"When we became aware of the statistics and the kind of neglect of health in our community, we had to do something," he said.
The church's role in providing guidance goes beyond the spiritual but also includes the physical, Stenhouse added.
"It's second to salvation," he said. "We understand the critical nature of people taking care of the bodies that God gave to them."
He said the black church really has to step to the forefront of the obesity epidemic.
"Churches have the attention of thousands every Sunday on the East Side, we see a great number of people on a weekly basis," he said. "So we can disseminate this information and give some direction on what to do and where they can get help."
Working at it
Lisa Yokley also tries to spread the word on better health care. Yokley, who is in her 70s, suffered a heart attack in 1993 and had to undergo a triple bypass. The retired Buffalo schools educator and administrator exercises three to four times a day, doing yoga, weight training with a personal trainer and walking. She also sticks to a healthy diet.
"It's a concentrated effort to keep my health in place because I plan to live to at least 100 and be active," said the Orchard Park resident.
Since the heart attack, Yokley has done extensive research on achieving a healthy lifestyle. She has observed the weight that those around her have gained. Yokley delicately broaches the subject by talking about her own health troubles and then goes into the ways she stays healthy, hoping to motivate them to do the same. Yokley said she's determined to not be part of the growing statistic.
"I love taking care of myself; I love the way I feel," she said.
Polite and her daughter have also made a similar vow.
"With the diabetes, I've changed, I'm not the person I was," said Polite, who walks to all of her doctor appointments and has gone from a size 32 to 22. "And I'm proud of myself."
Calculating your BMI
A person has traditionally been considered to be "obese" if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight, or has a Body Mass Index, or BMI, of 30 or higher. BMI measures your weight in relation to your height and is closely associated with measures of body fat.
You can calculate your BMI using this formula: BMI equals a person's weight in pounds divided by their height in inches squared, multiplied by 703.
For example, for someone who is 5 feet 7 inches tall (67 inches) and weighs 220 pounds, the calculation would look like this: 220 divided by 4,489 (67 x 67) multiplied by 703 = 34.45 BMI.
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