Perceived racism linked to weight gain

[moshquerade]

I think the link is more like a lack of exercise and a high fat high calorie diet.

Perceived racism linked to weight gain, Boston researchers say
May 26, 2009 06:53 PM


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."

Higher stress changes hormone levels that influence food choices and where in the body fat is stored, the authors write. That makes an association between the stress of racism and weight gain, particularly around the waist, fit with other research in humans and animals, they say.

Cozier said she was interested in learning whether there was another reason beyond diet and exercise that could explain why black women tend to be heavier than white women. Her study did not include white women, so a direct comparison is not possible, she said, but the unique experience of racism appears to be a potential contributor to the difference.

Her findings are in line with other research on the impact of discrimination, particularly as it relates to premature aging and high blood pressure, Dr. Joseph Betancourt, director of the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, said in an interview. He was not involved in the BU study.

"We are learning more and more about the mind-body connection and the impact of perceptions of discrimination, whether they be large episodes or these micro-insults on a day-to-day basis, including walking down the street and having somebody cross over the street" to avoid you, he said. "Discrimination turns into stress and it can have an incredible impact on the body."

Clinicians should understand that racism may affect their patients in ways they might not expect, Cozier said.

"It is useful for us in America to just understand that racism hasn't gone away," she said. "It's gotten better, but it's still here."

http://www.boston.com/news/hea...r.html?s_campaign=8315

 

[Arcadio]

There's always a silly excuse for being obese.

 

[BabaBooey]

Originally posted by: Arcadio
There's always a silly excuse for being obese.

Too bad there is not one for being a ignorant idiot...

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: Arcadio
There's always a silly excuse for being obese.

Yeah fat people suck. They dont even need to excercise just eat less, simple as that.

 

[MotF Bane]

Correlation != causation?

 

[Sea Moose]

I am not touching this one with a ten foot pole....

 

[Arcadio]

Originally posted by: bababooey

Originally posted by: Arcadio
There's always a silly excuse for being obese.

Too bad there is not one for being a ignorant idiot...

Let me guess: you're obese.....

 

[Chryso]

So now there doesn't even have to be any actual racism. Just the perception is enough to make you fat.

 

[slsmnaz]

Originally posted by: Arcadio

Originally posted by: bababooey

Originally posted by: Arcadio
There's always a silly excuse for being obese.

Too bad there is not one for being a ignorant idiot...

Let me guess: you're obese.....

that was a good one there. Will you be my girlfriend?

 

[Sea Moose]

Originally posted by: slsmnaz

Originally posted by: Arcadio

Originally posted by: bababooey

Originally posted by: Arcadio
There's always a silly excuse for being obese.

Too bad there is not one for being a ignorant idiot...

Let me guess: you're obese.....

that was a good one there. Will you be my girlfriend?

Now now children, play nice

 

[Imdmn04]

Bullshit, Asian people aren't fat.

Black people tend to have higher proportion of over-weight people due to diet and lifestyle choices (sometimes dictated by socio-economic factors).

 

[Queasy]

racism...is there anything it can't do?

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: Arcadio

Originally posted by: bababooey

Originally posted by: Arcadio
There's always a silly excuse for being obese.

Too bad there is not one for being a ignorant idiot...

Let me guess: you're obese.....

He can always lose the weight, you on the other hand.....

 

[Phokus]

Well yeah, if racism (real or perceived) increases stress levels, of course it will lead to some people gaining weight. Ever heard of stress eating?

 

[cheezy321]

Originally posted by: Phokus
Well yeah, if racism (real or perceived) increases stress levels, of course it will lead to some people gaining weight. Ever heard of stress eating?

Typical liberal ideology. Its ALWAYS someone elses fault! Personal responsibility be damned!

 

[Phokus]

Originally posted by: cheezy321

Originally posted by: Phokus
Well yeah, if racism (real or perceived) increases stress levels, of course it will lead to some people gaining weight. Ever heard of stress eating?

Typical liberal ideology. Its ALWAYS someone elses fault! Personal responsibility be damned!

Typical republican ideology... dismiss facts, logics, and science. How's that intelligent design working out for you?

P.S. I didn't say it was someone else's fault, but increase of stress (whether from racism or other sources) induces a lot of people to eat fat rich foods as a coping mechanism.

LOLREPUBLICANS.

 

[Peelback79]

"It is useful for us in America to just understand that racism hasn't gone away," she said. "It's gotten better, but it's still here."

Dur. Absolutely dur. It will never go away. However, people who use racism to justify over eating or not taking as much care in what they eat are wrong in the same way that people who justify their own faults by blaming their problems on skin color are.

IMO, I put someone who says "I'm fat because you're a racist" in the same category as someone who says "I can't hold a job because I'm not black and they keep hiring tokens and wurfa durfa hur hur."

Originally posted by: Sea Moose
I am not touching this one with a ten foot pole....

Well, it's not ten feet, but how about this *zzzzzzzip*....would you touch it with this? HOWL!:laugh:


EDIT: Added readabillity, took away some speelcheck failure.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Phokus
Well yeah, if racism (real or perceived) increases stress levels, of course it will lead to some people gaining weight. Ever heard of stress eating?

there is a certain amount of stress needed just to hold your head up. pardon me while i get another twinkie so i can deal with that.

 

[Ricochet]

Perceived racism? How 'bout they grow thicker skin...oh wait....

 

[Chunkee]

I always thought it was demonically possessed snack foods...Frito Lay sold out to the devil along time ago and ever since, the invasion rate has been steady. if you doubt me, try some of the new Late Night Doritos...those are hand made from the big man himself....each time you crunch one, and that delightful tingle graces your tongue, you can hear the faint evil chuckle.

Somebody better call the Exorcist as the rate of Klumpians is increasing at an alarming rate...the children are the saddest cases as they are the brunt of many disdainful acts.

 

[cheezy321]

Originally posted by: Phokus

Originally posted by: cheezy321

Originally posted by: Phokus
Well yeah, if racism (real or perceived) increases stress levels, of course it will lead to some people gaining weight. Ever heard of stress eating?

Typical liberal ideology. Its ALWAYS someone elses fault! Personal responsibility be damned!

Typical republican ideology... dismiss facts, logics, and science. How's that intelligent design working out for you?

P.S. I didn't say it was someone else's fault, but increase of stress (whether from racism or other sources) induces a lot of people to eat fat rich foods as a coping mechanism.

LOLREPUBLICANS.

How about you argue the point at hand instead of bringing up stupid ass arguments like intelligent design. How does that have ANYTHING to do with what we are discussing?

I'm not even a republican, just trying to point out that you sound like the typical liberal. Its always someone else fault, and that person at fault deserves to PAY FOR IT!

So your conclusion is that racism is the cause of all fat black women. Thats quite the jump in logic there....... Please show me one person who doesnt deal with stress on a regular basis? Its a basic part of life, how you cope with it is YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. This study makes a retarded point.

 

[Phokus]

Originally posted by: cheezy321

Originally posted by: Phokus

Originally posted by: cheezy321

Originally posted by: Phokus
Well yeah, if racism (real or perceived) increases stress levels, of course it will lead to some people gaining weight. Ever heard of stress eating?

Typical liberal ideology. Its ALWAYS someone elses fault! Personal responsibility be damned!

Typical republican ideology... dismiss facts, logics, and science. How's that intelligent design working out for you?

P.S. I didn't say it was someone else's fault, but increase of stress (whether from racism or other sources) induces a lot of people to eat fat rich foods as a coping mechanism.

LOLREPUBLICANS.

How about you argue the point at hand instead of bringing up stupid ass arguments like intelligent design. How does that have ANYTHING to do with what we are discussing?

I'm not even a republican, just trying to point out that you sound like the typical liberal. Its always someone else fault, and that person at fault deserves to PAY FOR IT!

So your conclusion is that racism is the cause of all fat black women. Thats quite the jump in logic there....... Please show me one person who doesnt deal with stress on a regular basis? Its a basic part of life, how you cope with it is YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. This study makes a retarded point.

Ahahahahaha, first of all, YOU brought up politics into it and used a straw man argument.

Second of all, you just libeled me: "So your conclusion is that racism is the cause of all fat black women."

Where did i *EVER* say that?

You're an idiot and certainly sound like your typical conservative.

 

[cheezy321]

Originally posted by: Phokus

Originally posted by: cheezy321

Originally posted by: Phokus

Originally posted by: cheezy321

Originally posted by: Phokus
Well yeah, if racism (real or perceived) increases stress levels, of course it will lead to some people gaining weight. Ever heard of stress eating?

Typical liberal ideology. Its ALWAYS someone elses fault! Personal responsibility be damned!

Typical republican ideology... dismiss facts, logics, and science. How's that intelligent design working out for you?

P.S. I didn't say it was someone else's fault, but increase of stress (whether from racism or other sources) induces a lot of people to eat fat rich foods as a coping mechanism.

LOLREPUBLICANS.

How about you argue the point at hand instead of bringing up stupid ass arguments like intelligent design. How does that have ANYTHING to do with what we are discussing?

I'm not even a republican, just trying to point out that you sound like the typical liberal. Its always someone else fault, and that person at fault deserves to PAY FOR IT!

So your conclusion is that racism is the cause of all fat black women. Thats quite the jump in logic there....... Please show me one person who doesnt deal with stress on a regular basis? Its a basic part of life, how you cope with it is YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. This study makes a retarded point.

Ahahahahaha, first of all, YOU brought up politics into it and used a straw man argument.

Second of all, you just libeled me: "So your conclusion is that racism is the cause of all fat black women."

Where did i *EVER* say that?

You're an idiot and certainly sound like your typical conservative.

So whose fault is it that these people are fat? Is it the racists fault, or their own?

Edit: And if it is their own fault, then what is the point of this study? What are they trying to prove? That stress can cause weight gain? Well, no shit Sherlock. If you cope with stress by eating, then its your own damn prerogative.

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: Phokus

Originally posted by: cheezy321

Originally posted by: Phokus
Well yeah, if racism (real or perceived) increases stress levels, of course it will lead to some people gaining weight. Ever heard of stress eating?

Typical liberal ideology. Its ALWAYS someone elses fault! Personal responsibility be damned!

Typical republican ideology... dismiss facts, logics, and science. How's that intelligent design working out for you?

P.S. I didn't say it was someone else's fault, but increase of stress (whether from racism or other sources) induces a lot of people to eat fat rich foods as a coping mechanism.

LOLREPUBLICANS.

and again we are back to self control...how about going for a walk, or a bike ride....but noooo that is not as easy as swinging through the drive thru and ordering a Big-Mac, large fry and a coke, or taking the elevator to the floor with the snack machine and getting a Snickers.

Hey heres an idea....instead of stuffing your hole with ice cream candy and cake how about they grab an apple banana or an orange.....problem solved.

It may not be an issue of passing the buck as much as it is about self control, and this report is just another example of people looking for a reason not to have any.

Next, they be floating some bullshit about how "perceived" racism has lead to an increase in smoking which has lead to an increase in lung cancer.

 

[Rebasxer]

So its now white peoples fault that blacks are fat too in addition to every other thing that I'm apparently at fault for....great they just can't stop blaming us....