Why are we leaving black women’s health behind?

Although black women make up 7.7 percent of the total US population, we have the highest rates of obesity in the country. Sixty percent of black women are living with obesity, which means we are at increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers related to the condition.

The urgency of addressing obesity among black women cannot be underestimated: as the obesity epidemic grows, the health of black women is increasingly at risk, as is our ability to work, care for ourselves, and participate in society.

It is not enough to recognize obesity for what it is, a silent killer that disrupts the lives of black women. Recognition must be linked to immediate and impactful action. To truly stem the tide of this crisis, we must dismantle discriminatory health care policies that deny millions of black women access to the full spectrum of lifesaving obesity care, including FDA-approved medications.

Science clearly shows that black women are inevitably exposed to the social factors that lead to obesity. Yet as a society, we are ignoring the evidence. The data says that the lived experiences of black women—disproportionate rates of poverty, gender bias, racism, and lack of access to health care—lead to higher rates of obesity.

The American Medical Association (AMA) not only recognizes Obesity as a complex chronic disease.. They also point out that racial and ethnic disparities are a major factor in the prevalence of obesity.

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If the science is clear, why hasn’t there been an effective solution to reduce obesity rates among black women? The short answer is that national obesity policy is based on outdated and punitive perceptions of the disease, resulting in discriminatory care schemes and insurance coverage that deny millions of black women access to government-approved medications and treatments. the fda.

For decades, obesity treatment has largely focused on recommending a diet and exercise regimen, fueled by the myth that obesity is simply a behavioral problem that can be remedied through lifestyle changes and “self-control.” “. For years we have left the doctor’s office with vague instructions to lose weight and eat healthy, feeling weak as we battled this debilitating disease alone.

But science has come a long way in the last 20 years, and now we realize that there is much more at stake that, until now, we have not been able to control. Scientific advances have even shown that diet and exercise alone may be insufficient to treat obesity. Obesity is a disease and should be treated as such.

But access to their treatments is hard to come by. Anti-obesity drugs are not covered by Medicare, nor are most Medicaid plans and the Affordable Care Act. These programs are still driven by disproven notions that obesity is a behavioral problem and not a chronic disease.

As a result, patients who depend on these and other programs, including millions of black women, are denied access to the full spectrum of care, including FDA-approved obesity drugs. These policies were created two decades ago when our understanding of obesity was primitive and incomplete.

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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently reported that nearly 42 percent of American adults are obese. However, nothing has changed in obesity care coverage since the AMA’s declaration that obesity is a chronic disease a decade ago.

It’s time to modernize our science-based federal, state, and private health care programs, seriously address this disease with comprehensive care coverage, and ensure all Black women have access to treatment and care. The time for action is now!

Dr. Donna Christensen is the first female medical doctor to serve in Congress and is a member of the Choose Healthy Life Medical Advisory Board. Debra Fraser-Howze is the founder and president of choose a healthy life, a nonprofit organization that addresses health equity through the black church. Shavon Arline-Bradley is the President and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women.