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African Americans: Health
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African Americans often face daunting obstacles that keep them from closing the health gap. Poverty and inadequate medical care all conspire to threaten health and shorten lives. But there's one other burden that seems to weigh down far too many African Americans no matter how much they earn or where they live: stress.
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Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions among both children and adults in the U.S., and obesity rates are particularly high among African Americans. These results may support a public health focus on strategies for preventing obesity early in life, during critical periods of growth.
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The American Diabetes Association conducts Diabetes Sunday's as part of its African American Outreach Program. It was developed to provide churches with a foundation to integrate diabetes awareness messages and healthy living strategies into the lives of their congregation and the community.
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In Superstition and the Superstitious, Eric Maple provided examples of common African folklore and beliefs. For example, when a pregnant woman walks under a ladder, she can expect to have a difficult birth. When someone sneezes, an African wishes that person "health, wealth, prosperity, and children." In Nigeria it is believed that sweeping a house during the night brings bad luck; conversely, all evil things should be expelled from the house by a thorough sweeping in the morning. If a male is hit with a broom he will be rendered impotent unless he retaliates with seven blows delivered with the same broom. In Africa, ghosts are greatly feared because, according to Maple, "all ghosts are evil." One Yoruba tribesman was quoted as saying: "If while walking alone in the afternoon or night your head feels either very light or heavy, this means that there is a ghost around. The only way to save yourself is to carry something that gives off a powerful odor."
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The hazardous level of stress faced by African Americans has many potential sources. As reported in the Annual Review of Psychology, worries about violence or employment keep many African Americans in permanent readiness for "fight or flight." Their bodies are constantly on edge, and their health may be eroded by the strain.
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African American elders may rely on varied resources to gain medical education and to take care of themselves. This includes traditional health care providers, but because of cultural and religious beliefs they may rely on less traditional providers or input from clergy or other African American folk remedies (Fahie, 1998).
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