By James Wright
AFRO Staff Writer
Yvette Cozier, epidemiologist at the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University. (Courtesy Photo)
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(June 20, 2009) - Racism directed at Black women may cause higher obesity rates among that group, according to a new study conducted by scientists at Boston University.
The study was conducted over eight years by the university’s Slone Epidemiology Center.
“Racism is real and it has real effects,” Yvette Cozier, an epidemiologist with who led the study, said. “It can result in real changes in the body.”
Cozier and her team monitored 43,000 Black women between the ages of 21 and 69 from 1997 to 2005. The scientists grouped the women in four categories based on how frequently they experienced racism.
The scientists then observed their weight and waist-line fluctuations every two years. At the conclusion of the experiment, all of the women gained weight but those who said they experienced racism most frequently gained more weight and had the biggest waist lines.
“We are learning more and more about the mind-body connection and the impact of perceptions of discrimination, whether they be large episodes or these micro-insults on a day-to-day basis, including walking down the street and having somebody cross the street to avoid you,” Dr. Joseph Betancourt, director of the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the Boston Globe. “Discrimination turns into stress, and it can have an incredible impact on the body.”
The study said that heightened stress levels can lead to hormone-level changes, influencing poor food choices. “That makes an association between the stress of racism and weight gain, particularly around the waist, fit with other research in humans and animals,” scientists wrote in the study.
Weight discrimination has, increasingly, also become a workplace issue. However, obesity is not covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 it is not considered a protected characteristic.
But Black organizations and churches have begun to recognize obesity as a major problem, and some have sponsored health fairs and screenings to help those affected.
Throughout the years, studies have shown that obesity is a trigger for such diseases as diabetes, heart trouble and strokes. According to the American Obesity Association states that obesity rates are among the highest in Black and Latino communities.