非裔美国妇女的肥胖与种族歧视有关

一项研究指出，非裔美国妇女肥胖率高与种族歧视的言论和态度有关。

在美国，胖人在过去几十年里人数猛增，其中增长最快的是非裔美国妇女——约半数的非裔美国妇女在目前被视为肥胖。

研究称，遭受种族歧视会造成严重的心理压力，从而导致肥胖。研究表明，经常承受压力会导致重要的神经内分泌功能失调，进而引发体内多余脂肪的储存。

在这项研究中，参与者在1997年和2009年被记录最多的是他们经常遭遇到的“日常”种族歧视，比如外出吃饭或购物时接受到糟糕的服务，以及因为他们的种族问题而在工作中，在住房问题上，甚至治安问题上都受到不好的对待（“终生”种族歧视）。

调查结果显示，与那些在这两个时间段内受歧视较少的人相比，在1997年和2009年经常受到日常种族歧视的参与者中，69%的人更有可能成为肥胖者。经常受到终生种族歧视的妇女也面临更大的肥胖风险。

For African-American women, being the target of racist remarks and attitudes is tied to a higher risk for obesity, according to researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University.

The link between racism and obesity was greatest among women who suffered from consistently high prejudice over a 12-year period.

The research, published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology, was based on data from the Black Women’s Health Study, a longitudinal study that enrolled and followed 59,000 African-American women beginning in 1995.

Through the use of questionnaires, the study gathered information on lifestyle factors, experiences of racism, height and weight, and other factors.

Obesity in the United States has increased rapidly over the past few decades with the greatest increases in African-American women —about half of African-American women are currently labeled as obese.

Experiencing racism —a form of severe psychosocial stress —can contribute to obesity. Research on both animals and humans suggest that constant exposure to stress can result in dysregulation of important neuroendocrine functions which can in turn trigger the storage of excess body fat.

For the study, participants were asked in 1997 and in 2009 to rate how often they experienced “everyday” racism, such as receiving lousy service while eating out or shopping, and whether they had been treated poorly because of their race on the job, in housing, or by the police (“lifetime” racism).

The findings revealed that participants who had reported the most everyday racism in both 1997 and 2009 were 69 percent more likely to become obese compared to those in the lowest category at both intervals. Women who reported more lifetime racism were also at greater risk for obesity.

“Experiences of racism may explain in part the high prevalence of obesity among African-American women,” said lead author Yvette C. Cozier, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University.

Cozier suggests that workplace- and community-based programs designed to eliminate racism as well as interventions to reduce racism-induced stress would be important strategies, especially in high-risk communities.