The employment and wage disparities now widening between Black and White women appear alongside substantial - and possibly increasing - health disparities. As the recent concern over breast cancer advice shows, Black and White women often inhabit different worlds in our healthcare system.
Consider the infant mortality rate, a good measure of women's health and healthcare. The Black infant mortality rate (13.63) is 2.4-times the White rate overall of 5.76 (a shade worse than 10 years ago). Teen motherhood doesn't explain this, as the race gap is actually smallest for mothers under age 20 - if there were more Black teen mothers, the overall gap would be smaller.
Source: National Vital Statistics Report (2005 data).
Even controlling for income, education, obesity, smoking, and some diseases, Black infant mortality is significantly higher. This presumably indicates worse healthcare, although some suspect the "physiologic effects of experiencing lifelong racism."
The most striking of the recent reports was a scary analysis released earlier this year showing that Black women have been getting shorter: absolutely and relative to White women, and the same is not true of Black men.
Height within a group varies according to genetics, but height differences between groups indicate health and nutrition inequalities during childhood. Black women born in 1965 reached an average height of 5'4-1/2" (Michelle Obama is about 5'11"). Each cohort since then has been shorter, and the average for those born in 1980 is less than 5'4". Black men and White men and women all grew taller during this period. Black men and White men are now separated by less than a quarter inch, but White women have opened up a gap of three-quarters of an inch.
The author of the analysis, John Komlos, believes obesity is the main factor driving the disparity, compounded by inequities in health care access and quality. He concludes:
The decline in [Black women's] height is most likely related to the obesity epidemic caused by inadequate dietary balance. Black women in the age range 20-39 weigh some 9.5 kg (21.0 lb) more than their white counterparts. It appears that black females are experiencing a double jeopardy in the sense that both their increasing weight and the diminution of their physical stature are both substantial and are both probably associated with negative health consequences.In some urban areas, the disparities between Black and White women are especially stark. That is the case in Washington, D.C., which pairs a disproportionately poor Black population with an above-average-income White population. There, Black women are more than 3-times more likely to be overweight or obese than Latina or Asian women, 5-times more likely than White women. Obesity doesn't explain everything, of course, and neither does other health behavior such as smoking. At just 17.3%, Black women have lower smoking rates than White women (21.5%).
Racism and discrimination are the hard to measure elephants in the room on both employment and health matters. That's coming in the next entry.
Before: Work and wages
Next: Discrimination and repercussions
Cross posted from Family Inequality.
I note that none of the usual bloggers from the coaching/guru business are commenting here. No one is touting the Law of Attraction, yoga or whatever the fad of the day might be as a cure-all for some difficult, systemic problems in our society.
I look forward to your next post.
With regard to obesity in AA women, I believe that the root causes are endemic. Someone commented on the disconnectedness between AA women and men. AA women love our men, but are finding it increasingly hard to do so. Rather than deal with all the drama (infidelity, emotional instability, lack of commitment, etc.) many AA women are going it alone. AA women are survivors! We've had to adapt to our plight...very few eligible men...raising families alone...being heads of households...pursuing goals and higher education...handling inordinate amounts of stress.
"Survival" modes mask our deepest hurts, depression and anger. Many use food to cover our burdens. No man in your life? Things are't panning out? Well, here comes food to the rescue! Another bite to ease all psychological pain! Overindulgence has contributed to much of our obesity problems.
Lastly, there's religion. Experience has taught us that God is our rock, our strength, our source...the One who makes us whole. All of this is true. But dare to look around your place of worship. You'll likely find a house that's 80% female! Then look nonjudgmentally at the 80%ers. Half are obese!
A Fool's Paradise
A Twist of Fate
Preconceived Notions
Yes, AA women are strong and have to endure a lot over the years for various women. This has made many of the same women overly independent. They just don't know how to relinquish some of that "power" and allow someone in to help them.
Overall, I think the medical community "enjoys" studying black women, finds the disparities "intriguing" but really does not care enough to lift a finger to help us. Keep the reports coming.
Being black in America!
Secondly, most Afro Americans have dairy allergies, and an adverse reaction to starchy foods, which leads to high fat deposit, bloating, and inflammation. These products are marketed as being healthy for every American. Biologically, we are different when it comes to dietary needs. If blacks are really NOT supposed to eat dairy and starchy foods (bread, white rice, potatoes, corn, wheat), but rather lean meats and fish, fruits and vegetables. But since it's not widely understood, we continue to have higher gains in obesity. There are many people that fight to change the diets of African Americans, we are still way behind.
With a change in attitude about our diets, I believe we can see a change eventually, if there is a shift of demand towards lean meats and vegetables. In addition, since many Latinos suffer the same issue, due to shared African and Native American genetics, they would also benefit from this change in diet as well. We should also look to supplement our diets with calcium rich foods or vitamins, with the elimination of dairy and starchy foods altogether.
Read these articles, as it has helped me see the light, and improve my own health:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/28252-blood-type-o-diet-foods/
http://www.notmilk.com/deb/070499.html
And concerning the infant mortality rates...don't black woman pro-create at a faster rate than white woman? So wouldn't the number ratio be off?
On infant mortality rates - the rates are figured as the number of deaths out of every 1,000 live births, so the fact that Black women have more children isn't the issue.
I belong to a group that is investigating the behaviours of doctors (of all ethnicities) in the treatment of Black Women. Some of our earliest impressions are that these women are NOT receiving the type of follow-up care and investigation necessary in proper preventive medical care. There are stories upon stories of doctors ignoring early signs of insulin resistance, heart problems, and other health issues such as osteoporosis and depression.
Many of the women complain that their doctors under treat their lifelong hormonal imbalances and are particularly aggressive in blocking efforts to refer to specialists. One such lady, a 36 year old, has been told that a large growth in her upper abdomen was just a fibroid. After seeing more than 7 doctors over a 5 year period, she was diagnosed as a stage IV sarcoma patient and now has less than a 5% 1 year life expectancy.
The women who are being interviewed in this study complain of the following:
1. Rude and dismissive behaviour by doctors and nurses
2. Failure to provide age-appropriate preventive medical advice in clear cases of family and personal risk
3. Failure to follow-through with specialist care when required
4. A tendency to dismiss chronic medical and psychiatric concerns as minor
5. Under-treatment of medical problems that have the potential to become serious ones
6. An overemphasis on fertility and reproductive health even when the Black Woman expresses other serious health concerns
I find that there is much ruder behavior from whites in NYC than in other parts of the country that I've lived in. THe same dismissiveness that you described I've observed in the work place and in stores from several white male supervisors towards their female staff/workers that are black. It is subtle but there is an arrogance and dismissiveness.