Exercise and black girls have always had a bittersweet relationship. Studies have consistently shown that African-American women have alarming rates of obesity compared to their white counterparts. This is overwhelming due to sporadic exercise routines and bad eating habits and not mention the outdated Body Mass Index calculator, demonizing and combining healthy and unhealthy black women together by seemingly arbitrary markers.

Now we are hit with more discouraging news, thanks to the results of a 10-year study conducted by researchers at the New England Journal of Medicine, who after analyzing the activity levels of black and white girls from ages 9 to about 19, concluded that the percentage of black girls lacking regular activity or some form of exercise regimen surpassed the percentage of white girls.

It also doesn’t help that black girls tend to have higher rates of pregnancy especially among teenagers. Another interesting fact is how education plays a part when it comes to adapting a healthier and more active lifestyle. Researchers discovered that black and white girls who had at least one college educated parent were more likely to hit the gym or be health conscious compared to girls whose parents were not college educated and only had a high school diploma. Education is another sore topic for the black community, and the statistics have not improved much over the years.

Overall, this is not an issue that can’t be contained. The best way to avoid obesity is to stay in shape and embrace a more balanced diet. It’s important to engage in some form of physical activity at least 5 days week. Depending on your schedule a 30 min workout will definitely help to minimize and keep you at a reasonable weight while also stabilizing your body-mass index.

Teenagers spend most of their time indulging in stationary pursuits like playing video games, talking on their cell phones, watching TV, etc. Parents need to implement a structural foundation that makes allowances for more extracurricular activities that keep them off the couch for an extended period of time especially when they are on break form school.

A combined ritual of eating properly and in moderation with consistent activity is bound to go a long way and slowly eradicate the plague of obesity which has held its grip for much too long.

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2 Comments

  1. I understand the message this article is conveying but what do white woman have to do with anything? why are whites always used as the standard? They’re not our “counterparts”, they’re human and we’re human, there’s nothing to counter (stop trying to spark competitive nonsesnse). the same message could have been conveyed without bringing white people into it and if they just have to add them, why weren’t other groups inserted?

  2. What a great response Chelle. I couldn’t have said it better.

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