Friday, August 30, 2013

Duke Study Regarding Black Women and Weight Maintenance vs. Loss

I'm discussing an  interesting that this article about a Duke University study recommending that higher weight Black women maintain their weight (http://today.duke.edu/2013/08/bennetobesity).  

It's progress from the lose weight at all costs perspective however:

1. It still promotes the balderdash that Black women have fewer social pressures to lose weight.  They don't realize that we have just as much pressure but we are bigger as a group and the pressure may start bearing down on us at a size 8 vs. a size 6.  

It also assumes that social pressure HELPS anyone lose weight when we know it's just the opposite.  Maybe THAT's why Black women tend to gain even more weight at we age vs. other race/gender groups.  

2. The study acts as though dieting and exercising makes everyone lose weight (It DOESN'T -- we know that. 

3. The study apparently done by an African American thin man, seems to still subtly put Black women down as though we are lazier and less disciplined than other race/gender groups.  For these reasons I hate this article.  It's more beat down for Black fat women.

4.  This article doesn't mention that it's dieting itself that makes most folks gain weight.  Higher weight people who aren't on a diet tend to keep stable weights.

3 comments:

  1. The problem I had with weighing over 300# was being invisible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How do you mean Colleen102203? Care to share more? Are you African American? What kind of weight stigma have you gone through, or are you saying the only kind you endured was being ignored as a human being (which is abusive too)? How does that connect with the Duke study and my review of it?

      Delete
    2. How do you mean Colleen102203? Care to share more? Are you African American? What kind of weight stigma have you gone through, or are you saying the only kind you endured was being ignored as a human being (which is abusive too)? How does that connect with the Duke study and my review of it?

      Delete