“Food For Thought”

Why African American People are at Greater Risk for Obesity

Deonna Leigh Causey

Taris Young

Joneera Grigg

Re’Dreyona Walker
 Introduction

As we are aware today, 39.9% of adults in America are obese (AMA 2018) due to the

high sodium and fat in diet and lack of physical activity. In the black community, 48% of adults

are reportedly obese (APA 2013). Food is needed to live but African American people are the

most oppressed racial group in America, and black people in lower income neighborhoods may

not have the same access to “Whole Foods.”

In the research paper, we will discuss how slavery plays into a big part of how and why

we eat food that are classified as unhealthy, discuss the socio-economic factors that can lead to

unhealthy decisions, and how entertainment such as food advertisements have stratergized to get

black people to be unhealthy.

By knowing about the food practices of Africans during slavery, African Americans will

learn of African food tendencies and corralate the food choices for Black Americans in the U.S.

today. The purpose of this research is to shed light on the history of African American food

patterns in the United States and how through institutionalized racism African Americans have

come to face a higher chance of chronic disease such as hypertension, obesity, and diabetes.
Slavery and Racism

Before Africans were taken to America their diet consisted of wheat, barley and yams

and meat was a rarity. These starches were easy to get full on and they were healthy starches and

had a high level of calories. Even though starches were very filling they did not have much

flavor, and West Africans use seasoning to make their food taste better. The slavery hyposthesis

for hyperstension states that high blood pressure in African American communities is measured

by two conditions: one being the salt deficenify in West Africa, and the trauma and conditions of

slavery (J Public Health 1992). Slaves were only granted the food that the master did not care to

eat; such as pig's feet, pig intestines, and pieces of animal no one wanted. House slaves were the

pioneers for soul food because of their close proximity. They brought their country spices to

“American dishes.” They ate food that was deemed unfit for the master, as they dressed up the

food with salt and seasoning high in sodium to make it taste better. Think about the foods most

black households consume now, green beans with ham hocks, neckbones, and high fat foods. In

West Africa food was healthy and there was activity. Over time African Americans were and still

disenfranchised. Because of segregation they were not offered the same access to good clean

food as their white counterparts. Because of Jim Crow laws, Black Americans did not have the

chance to go to the same schools to have a better education , therefore setting the stage for them

to grow up with subpart education to get a minimum wage job. Because African Americans were

often getting paid less and working long hours they barely had time to cook or eat healthy. The

trifecta of food preparation culture and low access to resources like health care, grocery stores,

and exercise, places African Americans in poor health , causing chronic diseases. (Culture, food,

and racism 2018)

Food Ads

Commercials promoting fast food and soft drinks often feature African Americnas. “McDonald’s

in fact has included black people in their ads for decades”( Little 2018). Aarti Ivanic, an

associate professor at the University of San Diego’s School of Business said it was no

coincidence. She examined the role that race plays in food marketing and found that brands

perpetuate racial stereotypes about food types by marketing healthful food to white people, and

fast food and junk food to black people. Advertising food this way according to Ivanic, may be

one of the many factors contributing to the amount of obesity in African Americans. The Center

for Disease Control and Prevention reports that black populations (46.8 percent) have the

greatest adjusted rate of obesity. Changing how food is marketed and to whom could change the

perception that it is natural for people of color to consume foods that lead to unhealthy weight

gain. Healthier foods are promoted to white Americans such as Subway and Jimmy Johns. When

you look at commercials such as McDonalds, you will see more black Americans then you will

white Americans. Junk food companies spent billions of dollars targeting the black community in

2017. Television ads for fast food, sugary drinks, or salty snacks are almost exclusively targeted

to minority youth. Junk food made up a whopping 86% percent of ad spending towards African

Americans. Junk Food ads targeting black people rose to by 50 %. This means black teens saw

twice as many ads for junk food products compared to white teens in 2017. “This study shows

that companies continue to spend 8 to billions of TV advertising dollars on fast food, candy,

sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks, with even more products targeted towards the black youth

(Tousignat 2019)”. Researchers reviewed the targets and efforts of 32 restaurants and

companies that spent $100 million or more to reach kids in 2017. These companies spent nearly

$11 billion on TV ads in 2017, and $1.1 billion on black TV programs.

Polls

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minorities,

African American women have the highest obesity rate than any other ethnic group. The site also

mentions that back in 2015 over 60% of African American Women were more likely to be obese

than Hispanic Women. Also another poll was taken a few years back between 2011 and 2015

stating that African American women were 50% more obese than Hispanic women. As you can

see there has been a spike in the African American community by 10% for obesity rates. Due to

the obesity rate getting higher it also causes some worries about health in the African American

community.

Health

Due to the obesity rate that keeps rising within the African American community, it

causes some worries on the health of the community. African Americans are more likely to

suffer from high blood pressure, higher levels of body fats, diabetes, and high cholesterol: which

can cause heart attacks and strokes. In 2015 it was reported by the US Department of Health and

Human Services Office of Minorities, that African Americans were less prone to being

physically active in about the 20% range. African Americans have the highest level of being

prone to high blood pressure in the world. High blood pressure can boost the chances of having

strokes and heart attacks. Heart disease is the number 1 killer disease in America. In former

research it states that African Americans are more likely to carry a gene that makes the body

more reactive and sensitive to salt. Also African Americans are more likely to have diabetes than
Hispanics and non-Hispanics. These illnesses all tie in with obesity and how African Americans

consume unhealthy foods in large portions.

Conclusion

There are many factors that contribute to the rising issue of obesity among a large portion of

African Americans. The history of oppression against the black community weighs heavily on

their choices, when it comes to jobs, social lives, and especially eating habits and diets. Due to

our poor choices in foods, we are linked to many illnesses and diseases that are now even genetic

and passed down through generations. Unhealthy foods, whether it’s McDonald’s or soul food

are always advertised to us and deemed to be our sole choices in diet. Poorer African Americans

are forced to eat unhealthier options because the healthier options are nearly unavailable in price

and location. The history of slavery left us with leftover scraps to eat, and we still eat those foods

today and nickname it ‘soul food’, when it has been proven that these foods are utterly linked to

the majority of diseases the black community faces, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and

high cholesterol. The historical oppression of the black community in America is the key to the

many reasons why we are the most obese racial group in America.

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