HHS Launches African American Anti-Obesity Initiative

[The Straight Story]

HHS Launches African American Anti-Obesity Initiative

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today the award of $1.2 million to improve efforts to reduce obesity among African Americans through a new partnership with national African American organizations.

"The obesity epidemic is one of the major health challenges facing our nation, and African American communities are highly affected by this disease and its health consequences," Secretary Leavitt said. "The initiative we are announcing today will mobilize three of the nation's premier academic and civic organizations to join us in a new partnership to mount critical prevention efforts in the African American community."

The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), Silver Spring, Md., will work with the National Urban League, New York, N.Y., and the National Council of Negro Women, Washington, D.C. Initiatives planned by these organizations include prevention, education, public awareness, and outreach activities intended to bring about a greater understanding of the impact of obesity on other conditions.

An estimated 129.6 million Americans, or 64 percent, are overweight or obese. Obesity and overweight have been shown to increase the risk of developing serious and often disabling medical conditions. Adult African American women had age-adjusted obesity rates of 48.8 percent, compared to 30.7 percent for adult white women, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the period 1999-2002. African American girls and boys also had higher rates of overweight than white children in the same age groups.

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20050407.html