and Megan Burks
In San Diego County, 65 percent of African American women are overweight or obese, according to Lakeysha Sowunmi of the Network for a Healthy California. That’s in part because of poor nutrition–African Americans eat 35 percent more fried foods than any other ethnicity, Sowunmi said.
But another factor is often overlooked. Many black women aren’t willing to compromise their hairstyles for a workout.
“If you spend an hour or two hours in the beauty shop, and you’re spending anywhere from $90 to $100 on your hair, and then you go out and you exercise, then there’s your money down the drain because you feel like your hair is going to sweat,” Sowunmi said.
“A lot of black women, they are defined by their hair. They get their hair done religiously,” added Stephanie Tomlinson of exercise and advocacy group Black Girls Run San Diego.
The pair said hair is an understandable excuse not to exercise, but that it must be overcome. Sowunmi suggested women talk to their hairstylists and try to find a style that will last through several workouts.
Tomlinson is also working to change how black women think about exercise. Black Girls Run, a blog that has turned into a national movement, works to make fitness a top priority in black women’s lives. The group makes exercise social with runs and walks at Liberty Station and Lake Murray.
“People kind of look for little excuses not to exercise,” Tomlinson said. “We’re hoping by dialoguing and getting together we can help them come up with little ways to get over that.”
Click here to listen to Sowunmi and Tomlinson on KPBS Midday Edition