Obesity Rates for Blacks Higher Than Whites
Blacks had a higher prevalence of obesity than Hispanics and whites, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study found that in 40 states, obesity rates among blacks was at least 30%. And in five of those states, Alabama, Maine, Mississippi, Ohio, and Oregon, the occurrence of obesity among blacks was 40% or higher. The prevalence of obesity is 51% higher for blacks than for whites, and Hispanics had a 21% higher obesity prevalence compared with whites.
“[These results] document that the prevalence in those communities is really high and it may justify the need for funding in policy and environmental changes,†said Bettylou Sherry, Ph.D., lead epidemiologist on the research and surveillance team at the CDC’s division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity. “I think this actually may well represent an opportunity for blacks to get involved in helping to develop these programs.â€
During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States among all races, according to the CDC. Obesity, which is determined by using weight and height to calculate the amount of body fat, has been shown to increase the likelihood of certain diseases and other health problems, including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension.
The prevalence of obesity for blacks ranged from 23% to 45.1% among all states and the District of Columbia, reports the CDC, which collected data from 2006 to 2008. Comparatively, the prevalence of obesity for whites ranged from 9% to 30.2%, with only West Virginia having a prevalence of 30% or more.
On July 27-29, 2009, the CDC will host a conference on obesity prevention and control.
–Marcia A. Wade
Consumers Cutting Back on Credit Card Purchases
Reluctant credit card holders clenched their plastic even tighter in May, sending card balances downward, according to data released by the Federal Reverse Board.
Revolving credit, comprised almost entirely of credit card debt, declined at an annualized rate of 3.7%, according to consumer credit data compiled released earlier this month by the Fed.
“For a lot of people, their credit card limits have been reduced and some have found themselves forced to pay down balances without the ability to charge anything else,†says Lee Baker, president of Apex Financial Services Inc. With a national economy built upon consumer spending, a pullback in credit card purchases will slow down short-term economic recovery, while boosting the long-term outlook, Baker says.
“On an individual basis, people are getting their financial house in order, even if in many cases it’s because they were forced to do so,†Baker says.
Signaling consumer uneasiness as the recession lengthens, revolving debt fell to $928 billion, a 3.5% drop from $962 billion, year-over-year. The decline also marks the eighth consecutive month revolving debt ebbed.
Increased frugality among African Americans may also serve to narrow the black-white wealth gap which has widened in recent years, according to a study released by the Fed. For every dollar of wealth held by the typical white family in 2007, a black family has only one dime, compared to 12 cents in 2007.
“This recession will change people’s [saving and spending habits] the same way depression changed people 70 years ago. I think that will help close the wealth gap between African Americans and white,†Baker says.
— Renita Burns
Achievement Gap Persists Among Black, White Students
Though reading and math scores improved for black adolescents in public schools, a recent federal study has found that the achievement gap between black and white students remains wide.
Based on a 500-point scale, black students scored about 28 points lower than white students on their reading and math tests, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.
The center’s findings were based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal measure of student achievement in reading, math, and science, with figures from 1992 to 2007.
The report constitutes the first major one conducted by the Education Department since President Barack Obama took office.
A separate report comparing Hispanic and white children is due out next fall.
Highlights of the report include:
At the eighth grade level, mathematics gaps existed in 2007 in the 41 states for which results were available. The gaps were narrower in 2007 than in 1990 in four states: Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. In all four, scores for both black and white students increased, but scores for black students had a higher increase.
Reading gaps at that level existed in 2007 in 41 of the 42 states for which results were available. In Hawaii, the 7-point difference between black and white students’ scores in 2007 was not statistically significant, and thus there was no gap for Hawaii. There was no significant change in the gap in any state from 1998 to 2007.
–Janell Hazelwood