Are We More Accepting Of Obesity In Black Men?

I’ve had a longstanding professional interest in cultural perspectives on obesity – particularly among African American women. In fact, it was a central focus of my doctoral studies. I conducted my research between 2001 and 2005, but I continue to be intrigued by the social and cultural meanings ascribed to body size and shape. These meanings vary by race and ethnicity, social class, religion, country of birth, whether you live in the North, South or on the West coast of the U.S., and a host of other factors. Scholars have analyzed obesity and body size among women from the standpoints of feminism, capitalism, psychology, philosophy, Foucauldian power relations, sociology, and anthropology. Representations and explorations of the large Black female body are also found in poetry, literature, and the visual arts.

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During my graduate studies, I concentrated on applying theoretical perspectives from the humanities and social sciences to my thinking about how we might develop public health strategies to reduce the prevalence of obesity among African American women. From the perspective of public health, obesity is a risk factor associated with the development of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer, heart disease, and arthritis, to name a few. I loved the depth and the breadth of my studies and the opportunity to explore the complexities of body size and weight in more than medical terms.

For over two decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has supported a broad range of public health initiatives to promote healthy eating, increase physical activity, and support healthy weights. Yet a recent report indicates that even though increases in obesity prevalence have slowed or even stopped for some groups, obesity prevalence remains high (Ogden, C.L., Carroll, M.D., Kit, B.K., Flegal, K.M. JAMA, 2/26/2014, Volume 311, Number 8, p: 806-814). In this study of adults 20 years and older, authors defined obesity as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30. They further divided obesity into grades – grade 1 (BMI 30-34), grade 2 (BMI 35-39) and grade 3 (BMI >40).

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