The Obesity Epidemic in African Americans in Comparison to Whites in Massachusetts

1. The Obesity Epidemic in African Americans in Comparison to Whites in Massachusetts Anh Vo & Bryan Josue Paula Gonzalez

2. What is Obesity? • Obese = Having Body Mass Index>30.0 • Occurs if you have too much body fat • BMI>40.0 = MORBEDLY OBESE • Being Obese is NOT the same as being Overweight!

3. What is a health disparity? • Health disparities are the differences between a group of people compared to the general population. • These differences relate to how often a group of people get sick, how many of them are affected, and how it affects them. The types of people that are mainly affected by disparities are: • Racial and ethnic minorities • Residents of urban areas • Women, children, and the elderly • Persons with disabilities

4. Why Is Obesity A Disparity Amongst African Americans? • Currently hold #1 prevalence rate in Massachusetts • In Massachusetts in 2011, Black adults were 43% more likely to be obese than White adults. • In Massachusetts, obesity is more prevalent among blacks at 31.6% than whites at 22.1%. • In 2011, 68.9% of African American population was obese or overweight. For Whites, the prevalence was 59.2%.

5. Population in Massachusetts • According to the US Census Bureau, in 2011 there were 6,646,144 people in Massachusetts. US Census Bureau(2011)

6. Statistics Representation http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/adult-overweightobesity-rate-by-re/

7. How did this difference develop? • Alcohol consumption(JN, J & NK, 2011) • Accessibility to fast food(LM, 2009) • Insufficient exercise • Original causes still apply(NHLBI) • Income(LM, 2009)

8. Economics Graph found at: Citydata.com

9. Economics(cont.) • A portion of Africans Americans have a reduced household income. This means that they have less money coming into to the home. • With less money, there is less food. • Healthy food tends to be more expensive.

10. African American Women vs. White Women • A recent study performed by Tené T. Lewis, Ph.D, showed new information on BMI levels. • The purpose was to find out if education affected the BMI of African American and White women. Results: • Black and white women showed similar BMI when they only had a high school education • White women in college have a lower BMI than black women in college -(Kriss, 2013)

11. Why is Obesity in MA a problem? • Even though MA ranked third-lowest obesity rate in the nation, obesity is still a big issue. • Obesity levels have doubled in the last 20 years. • As of now, one third of children in MA are either obese or overweight. • Two thirds of the adult population is either obese or overweight • More than half of adults and 1 in 4 high school and middle school students in Massachusetts are overweight or obese. -(Halpern, 2012)

12. Health Insurance Status • 1,088 African Americans had no health insurance as of 2011. The population of whites had 11,876 people without health insurance. • Hold second highest rate for lack of health insurance

13. Treatments Adults: • Lose 5 to 10 percent of your weight • Lose weight slowly and in a safe manner • Keep off lost weight for 6 months • Continue to lose weight if still obese Tips: • Set realistic goals • Change life style • Cut back on calories and start a healthy eating plan • Last alternatives -NHLBI

14. Prevention • Increase amount of physical activity • Keep track of weight, BMI, and waist circumference • Reduce amount of time spent in front of TV or computers • Follow a healthy eating plan -NHLBI

15. Bottom line • Obesity is a big issue amongst African Americans in Massachusetts • It is more likely found in those that have less income or lower levels of education • There was a correlation found between education levels and the levels of BMI in women • Obesity is an epidemic in this country, but we can stop itin the futurewith a well-balanced diet and more physical activity

16. References • http://www.letsmove.gov/obesity • http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/obesity.html • http://www.umassmed.edu/uploadedFiles/schoolservices/Pre-Matriculation_Programs/Summer_Enrichment_Programs/Julliard%20DelRosario-Obesity.pdf • http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2011/release.php?stateid=MA • http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/adult-overweightobesity-rate-by-re/ • http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/community-health/mass-in-motion/obesity-stats • http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/stateprograms/fundedstates/massachusetts.html • http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html • http://www.usa.com/newton-ma-population-and-races.htm • http://thegrio.com/2010/06/21/how-obesity-has-become-a-part-of-black-culture/ • JN, A., J, R., & NK, R. (2011, 08 13). Immigration, income, drinking and obesity in africanamerican adults. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Ade JN[Author]&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=21188529 • http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/ • LM, P. (2009, 09 28). Fast food costs and adolescent body mass index: evidence from panel data. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19732982 • Boston, Massachusetts (MA) income map, earnings map, and wages data. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/income/income-Boston-Massachusetts.html • Kriss, M. (2013, 07 07). Education protects white women against obesity more than africanamerican women. Retrieved from http://www.thealmagest.com/2013/07/education-protects-white-women-against-obesity-more-than-african-american-women/ • Halpern, J. (2012, 08 22). Obesity in mass. among nation's lowest – why that's so frightening. Retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/bbj_research_alert/2012/08/what-obesity-data-really-means-to-bay.html?page=all • http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/behavioral-risk/report-2011.pdf

17. Questions?