Health Tips For African Americans

You don't have to stop eating chocolate cake or start running marathons to improve your health. Making steady changes in your eating and physical activity habitsover timewill help you lose weight, feel better, and improve your overall health. This booklet offers tips to help you improve your health by eating better and being more active. 

What do you weigh? 

To see if you are overweight, use the weight-for-height chart below. Find your height in the left-hand column of the chart. Then move across the row to find your weight. Check to see if your weight falls in the healthy weight, moderate overweight, or severe overweight shaded areas. 

A healthy weight is different for everybody. Thats why the chart shows a range of weights. Weights above the healthy weight range may mean you need to improve your eating and exercise habits.

If the chart shows that you are overweight, dont be alarmedthere are steps and tips you can follow that can help you improve your health. 

1. If you are at a healthy weight now, stay there. 
    
2. Try to keep from gaining weight as you get older. 
    
3. Staying at a healthy weight may help you to feel good, have energy all day, each day, and avoid some health problems.

Do I need to change how I eat and exercise? 

You may need to change how you eat and exercise if you are:

• a man whose waist measures more than 40 inches, or 
   
• a woman whose waist measures more than 35 inches. 

You also may need to change how you eat and exercise if you are:

• in the moderate or severe overweight shaded areas on the weight-for-height chart, or
   
• having health problems such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, or diabetes, or
   
• at risk because your mom, dad, sister, or brother is overweight and suffers from weight-related health problems such as diabetes or high blood pressure. 

• are within the healthy range on the weight-for-height chart,
   
• have gained less than 10 pounds since you reached your adult height, and are otherwise healthy and physically fit. 

• lack of physical activity
   
• eating too many high-fat or high-calorie foods
   
• genetic factors (if your mom, dad, sister, or brother is overweight, you may be more likely to be overweight)
   
• health problems such as hypothyroidism (underactivity of the thyroid gland) and certain problems related to the nervous system
   
• taking certain drugs that may cause weight gain, such as steroids and some antidepressants 
   
• eating when bored, sad, or angry
   
• eating large amounts of food and feeling a loss of control (binge eating).
   

  

If you are overweight and have a health problem linked to being overweight, you should try to lose weight. 

Here are some steps to help you begin to lose weight and improve your health:

• Talk to your doctor or health care provider before trying to lose weight.
   
• Eat less high-calorie food and increase your physical activity. (Experts recommend that you do at least 30 minutes of physical activity of moderate intensity on most, if not all, days of the week.)
   
• Eat a variety of foods: whole-grain products, vegetables, fruits, protein-rich plant foods (tofu, dry beans such as red beans, navy beans, and soybeans), and protein-rich animal foods such as lean meat, poultry, fish, and eggs*.
   
• Use fats and oils (such as high-fat salad dressing) in small amounts (no more than 2 tablespoons). 
• Eat salted (cured) foods in small amounts, if at all, if you have high blood pressure.
   
• Eat small amounts of sugary foods (like candy and soft drinks). 
   
• Avoid weight-loss diets that severely limit calories or types of food. 
   
• Try to lose 1/2 to 1 pound a week. 
   
• Keep a journal to see the progress you are making. 
   
• Allow for setbacksyou are only human.
   
• Be patientimproving how you eat and exercise takes time.
   

  
   
   

  *If you do not eat animal products, you can still eat a healthy vegetarian diet that is consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and meets Recommended Dietary Allowances for nutrients.

How can I keep improving my health? 

Now that you have begun to lose weight and improve the overall quality of your life, you will want to keep your new habits. Here are some more physical activity and eating tips and changes that may help you stay on the path to better health.

Tips for Active Women

 

Being active doesnt mean you have to ruin your hair. 

Whether you wear your hair natural, relaxed, braided, weaved, or 
lockedyou can be active and still keep a beautiful hairstyle. 

Talk to your hairstylist to learn whats best for your hair texture and length and follow a hair care routine that fits your active lifestyle.

Food Guide Pyramid

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

What Counts as a Serving?
 

Bread, Cereal, Rice, & Pasta Group
• 1 slice of bread 
• 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal 
• 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta 
   

  Vegetable Group

• 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables 
• 1/2 cup of other vegetablescooked or chopped raw 
• 3/4 cup of vegetable juice 
   

  Fruit Group

• 1 medium apple, banana, or orange 
• 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit 
• 3/4 cup of fruit juice
   

  
   
   

  Milk, Yogurt, & Cheese Group

• 1 cup of milk or yogurt 
• 11/2 ounces of natural cheese 
• 2 ounces of processed cheese (1 ounce is about the size of your thumb) 
   

  
   
   

  Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, & Nuts Group

• 2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish (3 ounces is about the size of a deck of cards) 
• 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans or 1 egg counts as 1 ounce of lean meat. Two tablespoons of peanut butter or 1/3 cup of nuts counts as 1 ounce of meat. 

To enjoy tasty, lowfat and low-calorie versions of some favorite foods, you may wish to make the changes on the next page when you prepare your meals. 
 

CAN YOU DRINK MILK?
If you are lactose-intolerant (you can't digest foods with lactose in them), you may be able to eat small servings of dairy products, or try products made for people with lactose intolerance. (Lactose is the sugar found in milk and foods made with milk.)

If you are sensitive to some dairy foods, you may be able to eat others such as yogurt, hard cheese (like cheddar), evaporated skim milk, and buttermilk. 

If you must avoid dairy products, you can still get the calcium your body needs by eating dark leafy vegetables (like spinach, kale, and collard greens), calcium-fortified juice and bread, and canned fish with soft bones (like salmon). You can also take calcium tablets.

For an even better solution, click here.

Keeping your new habits

The path to improving your eating and physical activity habits is not easy. Along the way, you may drink sodas or eat potato chips, It's OK to have these snacks once in a while. But try to keep fruits and vegetables on hand, too, for a healthier snack.

Don't give up. Remember, sensible eating and physical activity habits, followed over time, are key to a healthy body, mind, and spirit!

Additional Reading

Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight
This pamphlet describes the health risks associated with being overweight, how losing weight can reduce these risks, and how to lose weight by improving one's eating habits and becoming more physically active. 

Weight Loss for Life.
This booklet provides information for adults about how to maintain a healthy weight to prevent disease and promote well-being. It describes the different types of weight-loss programs and important elements of a successful weight-loss plan. 

Physical Activity and Weight Control. 
This fact sheet describes physical activity and its role in health and weight loss. It also describes different types of physical activity and provides tips on how to become more physically active. 

Physician's Natural Weight Loss Program
One of the best programs for weight loss and maintenance. In it's thirteenth year now, thousands of users swear by it.

Walking. . .A Step in the Right Direction.
This guide explains why walking is a good form of exercise and discusses how to start a walking program, how to stretch before and after walking, and safety tips for walking. 

Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fourth Edition. 
Home and Garden Bulletin No. 232. This pamphlet provides advice for healthy Americans ages 2 years and older about food choices that promote health and prevent disease. It explains the Food Guide Pyramid and stresses the important role a balanced diet and physical activity play in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 

Binge Eating Disorder. 
This report describes the symptoms, causes, complications, and treatment of binge eating disorder, along with a profile of those at risk for the disorder

Very Low-Calorie Diets. 
This guide discusses who should use very low-calorie diets (VLCDs). VLCDs are formulas of 800 calories or less that replace all usual food intake and are used to promote short-term weight loss in severely obese patients. The benefits and risks of using VLCDs are discussed. 

Prescription Medications for the Treatment of Obesity.
This report discusses the different prescription medications available for the treatment of obesity. The benefits and risks of these treatments are also discussed. 

Physician's Natural Weight-Loss and Weight-Control.
This book reveals a physician's program which burns fat while preserving muscle. No drugs.  13 year track record of excellent results.

Why Does Milk Bother Me? 
NIH Publication No. 98-2751. 
This brochure describes lactose intolerance and how to manage it. 1998, 13 pages. Available from the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Tel: (301) 654-3810. 

Heart-Healthy Home Cooking African American Style. 
NIH Publication No. 97-3792. 
This pamphlet tells how to prepare your favorite African American dishes in ways that will help protect you and your family from heart disease and stroke. These 20 tested recipes show you how to cut back on saturated fat, cholesterol, and salt and still have great-tasting food. Delicious foods from spicy southern barbecued chicken to sweet potato pie are included. 1997, 28 pages. Available from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for $2.50; Tel: (301) 592-8573.

Down Home Healthy Cookin'.
This pamphlet features 14 tested recipes for traditional African American foods modified to be low in fat and high in fiberbut still tasty. Nutrition content and healthy cooking tips are provided for each recipe. Recipes include garlic mashed potatoes, 20-minute chicken creole, catfish stew, New Orleans red beans, and old-fashioned bread pudding. Reprinted 1996, 16 pages. Available from the National Cancer Institute; Tel: (800) 4-CANCER. 

Low-Fat Soul. 
Jonell Nash. Ballantine Books, 1998. This book, written by the food editor of Essence magazine, offers the traditions and flavors of favorite soul dishes without the calories and fat. It presents more than 130 recipes, each with a nutritional analysis, plus "fat chats," a selection of cooking tips to help avoid unnecessary calories, cholesterol, and fat. Available from your local bookstore. 

Down-Home Wholesome: 300 Low-Fat Recipes from a New Soul Kitchen. 
Danella Carter. E.P. Dutton, 1996. This health-conscious soul-food cookbook offers wholesome recipes, free of red meat and pork, for over 300 dishes. All recipes include a complete nutritional analysis. Available from your local bookstore.

Additional Resources
The following organizations have information on weight control and nutrition available to the public. 

Office of Minority Health Resource Center 
P.O. Box 37337 
Washington, DC 20013 
Toll-free Tel: 
(800) 444-6472 
TDD: (301) 589-0951 
Internet: www.omhrc.gov 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Information Center
P.O. Box 30105 
Bethesda, MD 20824
Tel: (301) 592-8573 
Internet: www.nhlbi.nih.gov 

Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition 
200 C Street, 
SW HFS-165 
Washington, DC 20204 
Internet: www.cfsan.fda.gov 

American Dietetic Association
216 West Jackson 
Boulevard 
Chicago, IL 60606 
Toll-free Tel: 
(800) 366-1655 
Internet: www.eatright.org 

International Food Information Council Publications Department 
1100 Connecticut 
Avenue, NW, 
Suite 430 
Washington, DC 20036 
Tel: (202) 296-6540 
Internet: ificinfo.health.org

The following organizations have information on size acceptance available to the public. Some of these organizations offer support and referral services to overweight individuals. 

Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, Inc. 
P.O. Box 305 
Mount Marion, NY 12456 
Tel: (914) 679-1209 
Fax: (914) 679-1206 

National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance 
P.O. Box 188620 
Sacramento, CA 95818 
Tel: (916) 558-6880 
Internet: www.naafa.org