In her recent "Conversations in Equity" blog posting entitled "Water Wellness", Leandris C. Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA, Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Equity, CDC/ATSDR and the Office of Minority Health & Health Equity (OMHHE), addresses the issue of obesity, specifically some cultural perspectives on obesity. She is "intrigued by the social and cultural meanings ascribed to body size and shape. These meanings vary by race and ethnicity, social class, religion, country of birth, whether you live in the North, South or on the West coast of the U.S., and a host of other factors." Dr. Libur also adds her own observations on the variety of exercise habits seen at her local gym; the types of exercise performed seems to vary by gender, age, and body form.
She notes that the prevalence of obesity has increased among men between 1999-2002 and 2007-2010 (CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report (2013)). She cites statistics illustrating the disparity in healthy weights among different racial groups "for obesity grade 3, 12.1% of non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years and older were in this category compared to 5.6% of non-Hispanic whites, 0.9% of non-Hispanic Asians, and 5.8% of Hispanic persons in this age range." In concluding her post, she raises several questions concerning healthy weights for male individuals:
These comments serve to highlight the need for considering population diversity (culture, race and ethnicity, social class, etc.) in developing programs to address obesity.
She notes that the prevalence of obesity has increased among men between 1999-2002 and 2007-2010 (CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report (2013)). She cites statistics illustrating the disparity in healthy weights among different racial groups "for obesity grade 3, 12.1% of non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years and older were in this category compared to 5.6% of non-Hispanic whites, 0.9% of non-Hispanic Asians, and 5.8% of Hispanic persons in this age range." In concluding her post, she raises several questions concerning healthy weights for male individuals:
- How much do we understand about the experience of being morbidly obese among men of color?
- As a society, are we more accepting of obese men?
- How can we support men in pursuing healthy weights?
These comments serve to highlight the need for considering population diversity (culture, race and ethnicity, social class, etc.) in developing programs to address obesity.
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