A new study published in the Archives of Dermatology on Dec. 17, shows about 40 percent of African-American women skip exercise because of hair issues.
“I treat a lot of African American women in our clinic and had noticed how many of them are overweight, and I wanted to know why,” Dr. Amy J. McMichael, a dermatologist at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said in a written statement. “I’m treating them for dermatology related issues, but as a doctor this was even more concerning because excess weight puts these women at risk for hypertension, diabetes and other serious problems.”
McMichael told Reuters that as an African-American woman, she too dealt with the hair versus exercise issue. Earlier, Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin also pointed out that haircare was an issue in that deterred some women in the community from working out. Coarser hair makes it difficult to fix or straighten locks at home, making it necessary to go to the hairstylist. With one Harlem, New York salon reporting that many women pay $40 a week just to get their hair straightened, some people avoid sweating in order to not shower and preserve their hair.
The issue of exercise is very important for the African-American community. Four out of five African-American women are overweight or obese, the highest rate in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2010, African-Americans were 1.4 times as likely to be obese as Non-Hispanic Whites, and African-American women were 70 percent more likely to be obese than Non-Hispanic White women.
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