Black Women Less Likely to Meet Activity Guidelines
Study shows Black women have shorter life expectancy than white women.
Revealing health disparities among racial groups in America, findings from the Black Women’s Health Study show that Black women have a life expectancy 2.7 years shorter than Caucasian American women and are less likely than white women to meet national physical activity guidelines.
Investigators followed 52,993 participants over 22 years and noted that both walking and vigorous exercise activities by study subjects were associated with less likelihood of early death from heart disease or cancer. Both diseases are more prevalent among Black Americans than Caucasian Americans.
The study is available in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2020; 59 [5], 704–13).
See also: Exercise Protects Black Women Against Aggressive Cancer
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
