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THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC IN AFRICAN AMERICANS IN COMPARISON TO WHITES IN MASSACHUSETTS

Anh Vo & Bryan Josue Paula Gonzalez

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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!

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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

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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%.

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Population in Massachusetts According to the US Census Bureau, in

2011 there were 6,646,144 people in Massachusetts.

US Census Bureau(2011)

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Statistics Representation

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

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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)

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Economics

Graph found at: Citydata.com

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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

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TreatmentsAdults: 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 obeseTips: Set realistic goals Change life style Cut back on calories and start a healthy eating plan Last alternatives-NHLBI

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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

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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 it in the future with a well-balanced diet and more physical activity

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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 african american 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 african american 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

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Questions?