Posted on 09/28/2003 7:12:13 AM PDT by johnny7
Lets 'Do' it Right: Exercise.
Wendi Thomas
gomemphis.com
More than 60 percent of black women are overweight. And I'd bet that many of these women have nicely styled hair. How are the two related? Many of us are overweight because we don't exercise. And I maintain many of us don't exercise because we don't want to sweat out our hair. For those unfamiliar with black hair, here's a primer. Many black women have their hair chemically treated to make it straighter. As the hair grows, the process - called relaxing - must be repeated on the kinkier roots.
Water, humidity and sweat are the enemy of relaxed hair. I know. Many of my sporadic attempts to exercise have been foiled by my hair. I've done TaeBo under a swirling ceiling fan. I've ridden a stationary bike under an air-conditioning vent with a fan aimed at my head. I'll do almost anything to avoid sweating hard enough to mess up my 'do.'
Of course, other factors contribute to obesity, such as poor diet. But for women, and black women in particular, hair is a factor. "When the one thing you have going for you is your hair, you don't want that messed up," says Brenda Speight, community nutritionist for the health department. Speight remembers how as a child, she'd get her hair pressed on Saturdays, to ready it for church Sunday. When her hair was done, so was playtime. Her mother wouldn't let her start sweating and messing up that hair. For many women, Speight says, getting their hair done is about more than looking good. That trip to the beauty shop "may be the only time that week that the black woman is cared for, instead of doing the caring," Speight says.
The link between hair and black women's health hasn't escaped the attention of the medical community. With obesity comes a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast and colon cancer. While researching black women's health issues, Harvard professor Rima Rudd learned of the hair/health link at a community meeting, and from a man. "He said, 'You're not going to get anywhere talking about physical exercise in the black community unless you talk about hair.'" Interviews with Boston-area women confirmed the man's theory.
The research continued, at first with the support of the National Institutes of Health. But the NIH eventually withdrew financial support "because they said there was no scientific link between physical activity and hair," she said. Undeterred, Rudd and others spent $6,000 of their money to publish the pamphlet, Hair Care Tips for Sisters on the Move. That was five years ago. In the last few months, Rudd gave the pamphlet to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to republish. To see the brochure, go to www.hsph.harvard.edu/sisterstogether/hair.pdf. But do more than read. Move until you sweat. Even if it costs you your 'do.'
Contact Wendi C. Thomas at (901) 529-5896 or E-mail thomasw@gomemphis.com.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.