Examples Of Disparity In African American Women

Evidence of Disparity
Obesity in African-American women is rising at exponential rates, but no one is showing it any importance. Over the past couple years, obesity has increased in the African-American community among black females. Below are some statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of Minority Health (OMH) that reveal high rates of obesity in African Americans:
• In 2015, African American women were 1.4 times as likely to be obese as non- Hispanic whites.
• As of 2015, the percentage of African-American women 20 years of age and over who are obese equals 56.5%. That is a 29% increase from the percentage from 2011-2014, which equaled 44.2%.
• In 2015, African American women were 60 percent more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic white women.
• African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to any other group in the U.S. About four out of five African American women are overweight or obese.
• In 2015, African American women were 20% less likely to engage in active physical activity as Non-Hispanic white women.
• In 2014, African American women were twice as likely as non-Hispanic White women to die from diabetes.

Impact of Disparity

Americans are becoming blind to the ways obesity is affecting our women. Cynthia Ogden, PhD, and epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “The obesity epidemic has affected all Americans, but it has hit African-American women the hardest.” The only way that we can effectively solve this problem is to work together as a country, state, and community to find ways to help every obese African-American woman. If we don’t do something about this problem, there will continue to be a rise in stoke, diabetes, and high blood pressure among African-American women. According to the