Find out how proactive individuals can reverse this trend with
diet, exercise and communal support
by Tamara E.
Holmes, AARP,
February 3, 2020
When film director John Singleton, 51, died in
April 2019 of a stroke, his family issued a statement with a word of caution to
the black community.
"Like many African Americans, Singleton
quietly struggled with hypertension. More than 40 percent of African American
men and women have high blood pressure,” the statement read, before urging
black Americans to learn the symptoms.
Indeed, African Americans are more likely to
have high blood pressure, diabetes and general poor health than a
typical person in the United States, according to the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They are more likely to be obese, which
is a risk factor for such conditions as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
African Americans also are more likely to die
from heart disease, cancer and stroke. Though the statistics reveal a
community in crisis, everyone can take steps to minimize the risks.
A multifaceted problem
Some of the causes for health disparities are
systemic, says Deidre Johnson, CEO and executive director of the Center for
African American Health. The nonprofit organization works to improve health
outcomes in the Denver-area black community.
For example, African Americans in low-income
neighborhoods may find themselves living in a food desert — an area where
access to grocery stores with healthy foods is limited. Then comes the issue of
the cost of healthy food.
"If you are struggling financially, it's
a lot easier to spend a buck on some fries than some fruit,” Johnson
says.
Top 5 causes of death for African Americans
Diabetes is a more prevalent cause of death
for for non-Hispanic black Americans than whites. For non-Hispanic whites, it
ranks seventh.
1.
Heart
disease, 23.3% of blacks who
died
2.
Cancer, 20.8%
3.
Accidents, 5.9%
4.
Stroke, 5.7%
5.
Diabetes, 4.4%
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2017
Shiriki K. Kumanyika, a research professor in
the Department of Community Health and Prevention at the Drexel University
Dornsife School of Public Health in Philadelphia, points out that advertising
targeting black consumers often reinforces unhealthy food choices.
"When you have eating patterns that are
now understood to be predisposed to chronic disease, and you're trying to get
everybody on board to change those patterns, it's going to be harder to change them
in a population where marketers are targeting the products that you're
recommending against,” she says.
Other causes for health disparities are rooted
in history.
"As an African American community, we
have suspicion and lack of trust with the medical community,” says cardiac
surgeon Jennifer Ellis, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at NYC Health +
Hospitals/Bellevue and an adviser to the American Heart Association. Cases such
as the Tuskegee Experiment, in which almost 400 black men who had syphilis were
left untreated as part of a U.S. government study that lasted from 1932 to
1972, have led some to avoid going to the doctor.
Blacks don't always get the same quality of
care as whites, and blacks are less likely to have insurance coverage, studies
show.
Behavior, such as a minimal amount of exercise
and the fried and rich foods that may be culturally significant but unhealthy,
is a factor, Johnson says. In some cases, African Americans may even have a
willingness to accept certain health conditions as an inevitable part of aging.
"We've been in this toxic system for so
long we look at the outcomes as natural,” Johnson says.
Changing the health trajectory
Though some problems require societal
interventions, individuals can take steps to reverse the trends:
Focus on the basics. Don't underestimate the power of diet and
exercise, says Shawn McClendon, a fitness entrepreneur from Macon, Georgia, who
has a podcast called Your Health at the Crossroads .
In addition to filling up on non-starchy
vegetables, McClendon suggests looking for informal ways to get fit such as
dancing and doing yard work. People with diabetes, high blood pressure or
chronic kidney disease should have no more than
1,500 milligrams of sodium a day, the CDC recommends.
Be a proactive participant in your care. Don't just take your doctor's
word for everything, Ellis says.
Do your research, ask your doctors why they
are recommending a course of action, and don't be afraid to change doctors if
you're not satisfied with the answers, she says.
Make health a group affair. "Communities of color are very communal,”
Johnson says.
A group of church friends might exercise together, a book club might read a
book exploring healthy living, or coworkers might decide to take a class on
healthy cooking.
Be open. If you do make a major change that improves
your health, let people know about it.
McClendon points to a woman who led her church
in participating in the Daniel Fast — a 21-day plant-based food plan based on
the Bible's Book of Daniel. The fast prompted a lifestyle change for the woman,
and “she lost over 100 pounds as a part of her ministry,” McClendon says. Her
success now inspires other church members to do the same.
The key is taking action to learn as much as
you can about preventing conditions for which you're at risk, Ellis says.
"No one is going to care about your
health more than you,” she says.
Tamara E. Holmes is a Washington, D.C.-based
writer whose work centers on the intersection of health, wealth and happiness.
Programs that specifically address black health
Some projects and information aimed
specifically at health problems that disproportionately affect African
Americans:
• Black Women's Health Imperative Nonprofit
organization focused on the well-being of black women and girls.
• EmPOWERED and Well Healthier Church Challenge An
American Heart Association and Weight Watchers Reimagined program with black
women in mind.
• Know
Diabetes by Heart initiative American Diabetes Association and American Heart
Association information on reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke for
people with Type 2 diabetes.
• Office of Minority Health Resource Center Federal government information on
minority health issues.
https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2020/health-risks-african-americans.html
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