The effect of poverty on obesity within the African American Community The Incidence of obesity and overweight among African Americans is the highest in America. Obesity is in an ever-rising trend because Americans eat more but engage in minimal physical activities. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 43% of all children and 73% of adults in the United States of America or obese or overweight. Among African American adults, more than two third are obese or overweight. Carrying heavyweight increases the risk of one developing high blood pressure and type II diabetes, the diseases that have drastic effects on African Americans. In African American communities, the cultural view of normal body size has played a key role in increasing obesity among them. Many African-American women view big body sizes as attractive and so they engage in unhealthy lifestyles that may increase the risk of diseases. It is an accepted fact among African Americans that overweight and curvy women appeal to African American men than underweight or normal women. As such, there is distortion of body image as slender women seek for ways of gaining weight in order to be accepted.
