All African-American Women Could be Overweight by 2034

From Yahoo News:

If the trends of those years continue, the researchers estimate that 86 percent of American adults will be overweight by 2030, with an obesity rate of 51 percent. By 2048, all U.S. adults could be at least mildly overweight.

Weight problems will be most acute among African-Americans and Mexican- Americans, the study projects. All black women could be overweight by 2034, according to the researchers, as could more than 90 percent of Mexican-American men.

All of this rests on the "big assumption" that the trends of recent decades will march on unabated, Liang acknowledged.

"This is really intended as a wake-up call to show what could happen if nothing changes," she said.

Waistlines aren't the only thing poised to balloon in the future, according to Liang and her colleagues. They estimate that the healthcare costs directly related to excess pounds will double each decade, reaching $957 billion in 2030 -- accounting for one of every six healthcare dollars spent in the U.S.

America in general is fat, but Black America is even fatter. This something we MUST get under control. Some tips on making sure you don't continue to be a statistic:

1. 90 minutes a day. Scientifically that's what it takes to lose the weight and keep it off.
2. Water is your friend. Bump 8oz, try a liter. Water flushes all the impurities out of your system and prevents you from being bloated and fills you up. Often when people think they are hungry, they are really dehydrated.
3. Watch those portions. Portion control is an easy and effective way to get the weight off. I've lost 15lbs by drinking lots of water and reducing my portion sizes.

Thick vs. Fat: A Black Man's Take

So here is one brother's take on Thick vs. Fat in the Black community. This one should spark some chatter. Discuss:

I remember in the late 1980’s when Black men first started using the word “thick” to define a woman with ample bottom and/or breasts. We knew what we were describing and it was more about T & A than the result of too many Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Moo-Moos and Cow-Cows.

We also knew that “healthy” was a term reserved for women with a little meat on their bones. They really were considered healthy because they ate regular meals (that they often cooked at home) and had beautiful bountiful bodies to show for it. They were proportionate and anything but obese.

But I remember that the term “thick” was co-opted in the 1990’s by overweight women who wanted to redefine America’s view of women (particularly the ones on the heavy side), and change the way overweight women viewed themselves.

Now, I’m all for people looking for ways to feel good about themselves, but if it is not based on reality and is actually inadvertently promoting and celebrating an unhealthy lifestyle, then it’s not a good thing.

Since the big girls dig brothers like me, some have been aggressive and when rebuffed (even though done politely), they often claim that I’m not a “real” Black man. After all, “real” Black men like big girls.

Right?

Not really.

“Real” Black men like a variety of women, because “real” Black men come in a variety themselves. Some of us do like the big girls, but some of us like the ladies who have little body fat, except where it counts.

Most of us probably know at least one or two Black men who like the big girls.

And, all across the nation, clubs specifically for big girls and the men who love them are popping up on the landscape.

So that means that being a big girl is a good thing.

Right?

Wrong.

Now, here’s where I get to use the phrase “never trust a big butt and a smile.”

While some big girls have co-opted the word “healthy” to denote a woman with largess, the redefinition of fat has gone too far.

It’s going too far to co-opt terms such as “healthy” to describe people who are, in reality, far from healthy.

Read the rest of the article. It's well worth it. Overall I think he does a good job of addressing the issue without coming off sounding condescending. And the whole "thick" phenomenon needs addressing. And I will get to that, but right now I'd like to here what folk have to say about what this Brother is addressing.

Fat the Other Four Letter Word

As I write you will see that I regularly use the word Fat. I recognize that it is considered insensitive to some and downright cruel and totally inappropriate to others but I'm going to use it anyway and here's why:

1. It's not pleasant. We (Black women) have devised so many ways to describe our weight problem (big boned, full figured, thick) that it makes it sound like there is no problem at all. Sometimes you have to call something what it is if you really want to get to the meat of things.

2. When I was putting on weight my mother said:

"You're getting fat."

She didn't say,

"You're getting overweight."

She didn't say,

"You're getting thick."

She said,

"You're getting Fat"

Ouch.

That hurt. I didn't like it. And I decided to do something about it. So yes, I recognize it can be offensive. And no I am not completely insensitive to that fact. And yes I will be using the terms overweight and obese because they are clinical terms and there are times when they are appropriate. But sometimes you gotta call it what it is. As my mama likes to say,

"Sometimes you just need to call a spade a spade."