Ryan Washington

Obesity

Obesity is one of the greatest health problems that has plagued the African American community for

decades. Obesity affects the physical and psychological well being of those who suffer with the illness.

The medical consequences of obesity include: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, death, etc.

The psychological consequence includes: depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Television show,

“My 600-lb Life”, documents the struggles of morbidly obese individual trying to save their lives. The

series breaks down the emotional and physical struggles of making the life changing decision of

undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Throughout this research paper, we will examine how “My 600-lb

Life” affects the audience’s attitudes towards the morbidly obese.

Obesity is a major health issue because it is the leading cause of death in the United States. The disease

affects lower income households. “It has been suggested that this impact of poverty, aspects of the built

environment common in low-income areas, and socio-cultural rules that influence such neighborhoods,

may effectively combine to create obesogenic environments within which obesity is effectively

promoted” (Withall et al, 2009). Factors such as the cost of a gym membership, or cost of nutritious

foods will have an impact on low income families.

TLC is a reality television network that is best known for documenting stories of people with unique

lives. “My 600-lb Life” is one of the networks popular series that documents the stories of morbidly

obese individuals. Every episode showcases their journey of getting gastric bypass surgery. Gastric

bypass surgery is the process of rearranging the stomach and small intestine. “Despite evidence of an

increased risk of death among obese persons, mortality studies of obese subjects who lost weight

without surgical intervention have been inconclusive. Bariatric surgery is reported to be the most

effective option for weight loss in the severely obese” (Adams et al, 2007). The series showcases the
environment that the patients are in, and the psychological state that they are going through whilst

preparing to get the surgery. Most of the patients have a history of depression and anxiety disorders

transcending from past childhood trauma. “Results from the present study indicate that exposure to

early life stress is associated with adult obesity. Specifically, men who reported a history of being

bullied/rejected or emotional abuse during childhood were more likely to be obese at the time of

testing” (Gunstad et al, 2006).

Obesity is not just a disease of developed nations. Obesity levels in some lower-income and

transitional countries are as high as or higher than those reported for the United States and other

developed countries, and those levels are increasing rapidly. This epidemic is important because

African Americans are dying from diseases that are caused by obesity. Shifts in diet and activity are

consistent with these changes, but little systematic work has been done to understand all factors

contributing to these high levels. This goal is to provide an understanding of the patterns and trends of

obesity affecting the African American community around the world and some of the major forces

affecting these trends.

In the United States, Black adolescents have the highest prevalence of pediatric obesity and

overweight among girls. While Black girls are disproportionately affected, the reasons for this health

disparity remain unclear. The writers/editors of Women’s Health magazine conducted a systematic

review to investigate the factors related to obesity and overweight among Black adolescent girls. The

writer’s searched four databases for relevant English-language publications using all publication years

through 2015. Fifty-one studies met the inclusion criteria and were used for this review. Using a

configuration approach to synthesis, three categories were identified, paralleling the bioecological

theory of human development: (1) individual, (2) interpersonal, and (3) community and societal factors.

A description of each factor’s association with obesity among Black adolescent girls is presented. From
this review, the authors identified a diverse and vast set of individual, interpersonal, and community

and societal factors explored for their relationship with obesity and overweight. Given the insufficient

repetition and limited significant findings among most factors, the authors believe that multiple gaps in

knowledge exist across all categories regarding the factors related to obesity among Black adolescent

girls. Across the 51 included studies, a variety of methodologies were employed: six used a qualitative

design and 45 studies used a combination of quantitative descriptive, comparative, and correlational

non-experimental designs. 

Obesity is more prevalent among African Americans and other racial and ethnic minority

populations than among whites. The behaviors that determine weight status are embedded in the core

social and cultural processes and environments of day-to-day life in these populations. Obesity is

currently viewed as one of the most important health concerns in the United States and is an increasing

focus of federally funded research. 

As aforementioned obesity is plaguing the African American population in our country and

there are a few preventative and reactionary methods that can be employed to combat this epidemic.

Physical inactivity, parental influence, and media influence are a few of the contributing factors that

play a role here. “Research indicates that children are spending more leisure time engaging in sedentary

activities such as playing video games and watching television” (Brandes, 2009). Despite the

correlation between sedentary activities and obesity there is still research that needs to be done to

further detail the association between the two.

“Previous evidence has indicated that dietary attributes are established in early childhood”

(Anderson, 2009). Anderson took a more in depth look and found a “relationship between African

American parents’ habits and beliefs about nutrition and the likelihood of obesity in their children”.

The researcher found that the nutritional knowledge and beliefs of the parents directly correlated with
food they provided for their children and most believed diet opposed to genetics played a role in the

weight of their children.

Media influence is the one factor that may be the most detrimental to African American children

as the marketing environment targeting African Americans is very unlikely to suggest healthier eating

habits. “The exposure to marketing may be greater for African Americans due to higher usage of media

such as television. African Americans may respond more readily to ethnically targeted marketing than

white consumers” (Grier et al, 2007).

Much research has shown that there are multiple factors that lead to obesity in African

American children. The correlation is present, but due to lack of clarity on the associations it makes it

difficult to take preventative actions towards obesity. There is a very limited source of research

available on obesity within African American children and without adequate research there can’t be

adequate steps taken for prevention.

Adams, T. D., Bray, G. A., Li, Q., Holshue, M. L., Rothe, C., & Cardiovascular Genetics Division.
(2007, August 23). Long-Term Mortality after Gastric Bypass Surgery: NEJM. Retrieved from
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa066603

Anderson AD (2009) African American parents’ nutritional habits: Implications for the prevention of
childhood obesity. Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas.

Brandes, A (2007) Leisure time activities and obesity in school-based inner city African American and
Hispanic children. Pedi Nurs 33: 97.

Grier S, Mensinger J, Huang S, Kumanyika S, Stettler N (2007) Fast-food marketing and children's

Gunstad, J., Paul, R. H., Spitznagel, M. B., Cohen, R. A., Williams, L. M., Kohn, M., & Gordon, E.
(2006, May 19). Exposure to early life trauma is associated with adult obesity. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178105003720

Withall, J., Jago, R., & Cross, J. (2009, May 30). Families' and health professionals' perceptions of
influences on diet, activity and obesity in a low-income community. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829209000549

Obesity and African Americans: Physiologic and Behavioral Pathways