No doubt it is:
Female Obesity Encouraged in Black Society?
June 11, 2007
Obesity in America is a problem across the racial spectrum. But columnist Debra Dickerson suggests that African-American women are more inclined to be overweight because African-American men prefer them to be so. Dickerson defends her argument and is joined by a blogger who disagrees in this week's Behind Closed Doors.
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Ms. JASMYNE CANNICK (Blogger): I think there's a lot of truth in it, but I also - I mean, I just came back from the motherland and, you know, aka the land of big butts aplenty, okay? So when I look at…
MARTIN: Wait a minute. You're not talking about Atlanta, right?
(Soundbite of laughter)
Ms. CANNICK: Africa.
MARTIN: You mean West Africa, okay.
Ms. CANNICK: West Africa. Well, you know, I felt right at home. If anything, I was too small. But, you know, going from here over there and just looking at us as African-American women, yeah, there was a huge difference.
I mean, you can't argue with the numbers in terms of obesity within our community. But you also, I think, have to look at the factors on how we ourselves play a role in it as well. And what steps do we take, you know, to curb it. If we find it, there's a problem. I mean, like you said, I've been struggling on my own weight loss and I'm - I have lost about 46 pounds now and so…
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MARTIN: Okay. According to a Village Voice article by Ben Westhoff, there are a slew of urban magazines finding success with men of color by replacing the traditional photo spreads of well-known bony models and actresses with unknown round-the-way sisters, looks and fitness not required.
Ginormous butts and weaves - must have. And now, here - I want to edit for radio. Buffie, for the 45-inch butt, is the reigning queen of the scene, and her popularity speaks to blacks' normalization of a very un-pc fatness.
Besides being a cover girl, Buffie appeared in the movie "ATL" as Big Booty Judy, and is as recognizable in the black community as some supermodels. Debra, why are you hating on Buffie? Come on, now. Why are you hating?
(Soundbite of laughter)
Ms. DICKERSON: You know, I like Buffie. She came across as a down home, round-the-way sister. And what hurts me in all these blowback is that people don't seem to get that I'm coming from a place of love for my sisters. And it bothers me that this woman felt herself to be too skinny at 120 pounds.
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Ms. CANNICK: …the greens with pork in them. And it's so much a part of our community, but at the same time, we truly do believe as black folks that somehow that food is good for us because that's the food that we were raised on.
Ms. DICKERSON: (unintelligible)
Ms. CANNICK: But that's the food that we ate because that's all we could afford to eat. And it was passed down, obviously, from generation to generation. And so here I am, at 29 years old - I woke up one morning and I was 236 pounds.
And even though I was 236 pounds, I considered myself to be relatively healthy in terms of no other sort of health conditions, but I was fat. I was very, very fat. I mean, it took a little while for that to sink in. And when it did, I had to make some lifestyle changes. But it's not - and it hasn't been easy, Michel, because in my neighborhood, if I want to get good, healthy food including groceries, I have to go the West Side.
You know, and that's an issue from, you know, from the West Side of this country to the East side, wherein predominantly black and brown neighborhoods, we just don't have access to the same things that more affluent neighborhoods have access to.
Ms. DICKERSON: Sure.
MARTIN: But you also saw something earlier, Jasmyne, that even when - as you were putting on weight, you were inclined to think you were okay. I wanted to talk about that because Debra cites a statistic in her piece from womenshealth.gov, reports that compared with overweight white Americans, overweight black Americans are two to three times more likely to say their weight is average even after they're been told they're overweight or obese by a doctor.
Jasmyne, you think that's true?
Ms. CANNICK: Well, first of all, I will never ever put myself on the same scale as a white woman because automatically, my body structure's completely different. We have certain assets that others pay for that we just are born with naturally. And so, you know, at five-six, for me to be 135 pounds, it's just not going to happen.
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