The NAACP Georgia State Conference (GSC) is taking part in a nationwide effort to advance health equity. Our mission is to eliminate the barriers to quality healthcare and preventive treatment for people of color with chronic diseases. One such disease that we are working to tackle is obesity, in large part, because it disproportionately impacts black Georgians and increases the likelihood of negative long-term health outcomes. Obesity was declared an epidemic over 20 years ago and now nearly 50% of Black Americans and 60% of black women are living with obesity, placing them at higher risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer.
In every state and territory, greater than 20% of adults currently live with obesity, but those numbers increase dramatically within communities of color. Among Black adults, over 35% are living with obesity in 48 states and the District of Columbia. When you look deeper at the numbers in Georgia, across all races, Georgia currently has an obesity rate over 37%, but that number increases to 42.8% when looking at obesity rates among Black Georgians. These numbers highlight the fact that in Georgia we have not been spared of the many cases of preventable diseases and death that are all too often associated with obesity.
Systemic racism, unequal access to health care, and bias in health care, are major drivers of obesity in people of color. Observers and experts who study equity in our healthcare system widely agree that the United States has one of the most unequal healthcare systems in the developed world. It is also widely accepted that systemic inequities in our healthcare system disproportionately impact communities of color, which is why the NAACP Georgia State Conference is committed to pushing back against these inequities. It is critical that we continue the daily work of breaking down the walls that create these inequities so we can combat the obesity epidemic and other preventable diseases, thereby saving lives and helping black Americans have better long term health outcomes.
It is incumbent upon us to educate black Georgians and provide them with the resources to combat obesity and all physical and mental challenges. It is part of the NAACP’s mission to achieve health equity for minorities by advancing policies and practices that expand, accelerate, and eliminate health insecurity among Black people and all persons of color. To slow the tide of obesity in our community, the NAACP Georgia State Conference encourages black Georgians and people of color to focus on eating healthy fruits and vegetables, reduce sugar intake, and increase physical activity. We also call on leaders to tackle food deserts in our communities and commit resources to regularly educate our communities about health and wellness lifestyle changes that will decrease obesity and other comorbidities.
The causes of obesity are many, so the only way to properly combat the obesity epidemic is with a dynamic and multifaceted approach. That approach involves health education and early intervention, increasing overall access to healthcare by making healthcare more accessible and affordable, and ensuring the full range of medical treatment options for obesity are available and affordable to all. Increasing access to healthcare and education about healthy eating and the need for exercise are the best ways to prevent and treat obesity early on, but for far too many that is simply not enough. Fortunately, medical intervention in the form of FDA approved anti-obesity medications (AOMs) can help in a significant way. Recent studies have shown they are both effective in treating obesity but have the added benefit of causing a significant reduction of cardiovascular issues including heart attack and stroke. Expanding access to AOMs would be a powerful tool in combating obesity itself but would have the added benefit of saving millions of lives across our country by also reducing the rates of obesity related illnesses. One of the most vulnerable groups in the black community are senior citizens, so we should start by ensuring accessibility of these life-saving anti-obesity medications through Medicare Part D.
Unfortunately, healthcare policy is failing our communities at all levels, both in accessibility and affordability of medical care, slow movement on legislation aimed at combating food deserts like the Food Deserts Act, and slow movement on expanding access to AOMs. Work is being done by grassroots organizations at all levels to combat obesity through education, fighting for changes in healthcare policy, and working to ensure all treatment options are available to those who need them, but there is still more work to be done. Congressional leaders must urgently collaborate with the administration to update Medicare coverage policies to expand access to lifesaving medical treatments like AOMs, the Food Deserts Act must be passed, and we must keep working to make healthcare more affordable, while using all opportunities available to educate black Americans about the need for exercise and healthy eating. The NAACP Georgia State Conference is committed to saving the lives of black Americans and people of color by combating obesity in our community and will do so by breaking down barriers to healthcare, educating our community, and pushing for policy changes at the local, state, and federal level that expand access to the full range of medical treatment options.
Last updated on August 21, 2024
