Posted on 05/28/2009 5:16:42 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Perceptions of racism -- from being treated with suspicion in a store to unfairness in employment or housing -- can heighten stress levels and affect health, research has shown. A new study from Boston University links these smoldering signs of racism to weight gain in black women, suggesting a possible explanation for the their higher obesity rates compared to white women.
Yvette Cozier, an epidemiologist at the Slone Epidemiology Center at BU, led a survey of more than 43,000 women enrolled in the long-running Black Women's Health Study. Writing in the June issue of Annals of Epidemiology, she and her co-authors describe participants' reports on their weight, body mass index, and perceptions of racism.
At the beginning of the eight-year study, the women were asked if they sometimes felt they were treated poorly in a restaurant or store, whether they thought people considered them dishonest or less intelligent, and if they had felt unfairness on the job, in housing, or from police. The women, 21 to 69 years old at the study's outset, were placed in four groups based on how frequently they said they experienced these signs of racism. Their weight was recorded every two years from 1997 through 2005. Their waist circumference was measured at the beginning and end.
At the end of the trial, all the women had gained weight. But the women who said they felt higher levels of racism gained more weight and had bigger waist-size increases compared to the women who felt the least racism. That held true after accounting for factors such as education, geographic region, and beginning body mass index.
"Racism is real and it has real effects," Cozier said in an interview. "It can result in real changes in the body."
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Maybe those black women who eat more crappy junk food also like to blame their problems on racist whites?
Funny you mentioned that.
I have seen carts of them [sprinkled with some actual obligatory “real food”] being wheeled out of the store.
The thing I thought was really crazy were all the 8 packs of Coke bottles straddling the sides of the carts.
In my entire life, I have NEVER had to use more than -one- cart for 2 weeks worth of food for 2 people and 5 or 6 dogs and that’s counting TP and paper towels.
Un-freaking-real.
The Boston Globe has enough problems as it is without reporting their only remaining subscriber's racist attitudes are directly responsible for black females having posteriors three ax handles wide.
Pinch & his boyz won't be pleased. :o)
Exactly, it is someone else’s fault, therefore, you can do nothing to improve you life, it is all out of your hands.
Talk about unreal, I’ve seen two carts full of expensive MEAT pushed by a very obese woman when I was barely able to buy hamburger.
How do I get all the free stuff?
Is this part of the same study, featured in the Brit papers, that said the obese tend to be racists? Now, I’m confused.
Many are taught from childhood that ALL of their misfortunes are the result of white racism. In reality, they, themselves, and 'liberal' (dependency) politics, are responsible for most of it.
“How do I get all the free stuff?”
Stop working, claim to be “discriminated against” and go to the welfare office.
[you can also claim “obesity” as a “disability” so maybe you should start stuffing Twinkies into your face ASAP]...:))
You’ll also get free [or nearly so] housing and cars.
Sometimes I wonder why we even bother working ourselves half to death...other to fund welfare, that is.
You might want to try ground turkey.
It’s cheaper, healthier and little low salt beef bullion powder mixed in makes for a fairly decent “fake” hamburger.
There’s also virtually no fat so the weight you pay for is what you really get.
I think I am (a victim). Therefore, I am (fat)
When I see a ginormous woman roll out of her late-model Lexus SUV, waddle into Wal-Mart and plop her arse into a motorized wheel chair, I can not help but feel a good bit of rage.
I have genetic spine problems that can not be fixed, even with a spinal fusion and on “bad days” [actually, ~excruciating~ fits better] I can’t find a close parking spot because they’re all taken up by people who have gorged themselves into their self-inflicted “handicap”.
Yet *I* am the one getting dirty looks when I get out of my truck because no one can ~see~ what’s slowly crippling *me*.
Is *that* discrimination?
[OTOH, I am so “hillbilly” that I will grit my teeth and try to walk tall and sure just so that no one can see my damnable weakness and “pity me”..maybe I should start walking like I really *feel*]
Maybe you should. It's better than getting the dirty looks.
I know exactly how you feel. I have a shattered vertebrae and have much pain if I have to stand up for very long. I try my best to ignore the pain and act as if nothing is wrong when I am in public. When I have bad days, I stay home and close to my bed. I will park away from the entrance to the stores so someone who is in worse shape than me will be able to park close.
The pack always attacks the weakest in the herd.
When you’re a small woman shopping alone, often at night, displaying anything less than an “F with me and I’ll rip your lungs out through your eye sockets” attitude will get you thrown into a van full of “yutes” and taken to a deserted back road for a “party’.
[has happened locally, several times, especially since the McMansions behind the Wally World strip mall were converted to mostly Section 8 housing]
I believe I’d rather face the dirty looks.
I live in the Freak State where I can’t carry a gun to defend myself.
I have to rely on a ‘nasty attitude’...and some other “things” I’ve got up my sleeve...:))
So - From now on, when interacting with people of other races I am going to make sure they are skinny. That way I will know that I am not dealing with a racist.
Oh Dear, that means most of my minority friends have to go. Oh well it was in the Boston Globe so it must be true.
May God bless you and ease your pain, dear FRiend.
I have walked [and limped] many miles in your shoes.
Stand tall as much as you can...it may take a lot out of your your back but it adds a lot more to your dignity.
I am discriminated against. I am a Christian, Euro-American, Southern, man.
It’s all in the preparation.
Deer is my all-time favorite meat...even if it’s just pan-fried in butter and still “gamey”.
My mother used to make “Swiss Steak” out of deer [she hates it, too] and it was SO good even she pigged out on it.
Lots of marination, clever sauces and spices will make all the difference in the world.
Even a few hours soaking in light brine, as you would squirrel, removes much of the “wild” taste.
Can you, by any chance, cook?
You *might* convert her....:)
“I am discriminated against. I am a Christian, Euro-American, Southern, man”
Swap the gender and I’m with ya...;-D
[even worse than that, I’m *heavily* blood-connected to the backwoods of WV...I’m doomed]...LOL
Thank you, I hope God will give you the strength to continue to keep a stiff upper lip and not surrender to the constant pain.
Losing 40 lbs helped me a whole lot. I have learned to watch for the signs of a sneak attack of the pain monster and take defensive measures (hit the sack or sit very still if I feel him stirring around).
My pain reminds me of my ex wife. It is like a constant nagging that is hard to get away from. ;0)
I forgot to add bare footed, retarded red neck, hill billy with 2 teeth from Arkansas. ;0)
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