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Predominantly
black colleges like Norfolk State University are stepping
in, rolling out veggie-heavy menus, building walking
trails and even launching campus-wide weight loss contests.
Their aim: to curb the ballooning of black America by
targeting the next generation.
"Our
students are at a prime time in their lives where they
can make choices that can prevent them from having these
problems," said Cynthia Burwell, head of Norfolk
State's internship programs and an organizer of the
health effort.
Similar
weight-loss initiatives have been started at five other
historically black colleges: Talladega College in Alabama,
Alcorn State University in Mississippi, Lincoln University
in Pennsylvania, South Carolina State University and
Wiley College in Texas.
Their
programs are supported through federal grants distributed
by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in
Higher Education, or NAFEO. Later, the umbrella group
will turn over data on student weight trends to the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' minority
health office for review.
NAFEO
grew concerned last year after noticing national obesity
trends having an especially striking impact at the 120
schools it represents.
"Obesity,
as we all know, is an epidemic across the country, particularly
affecting minorities," said NAFEO senior health
adviser Julia Anderson. "It's no secret."
Estimates
are that nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight
or obese.
Blacks,
especially women, are carrying many of the pounds: A
study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
found as many as 70.6 percent of black women across
various age groups qualified as overweight or obese
between 1999 and 2002.
And
while few of the participating black colleges keep hard
data, Alcorn State human sciences chairman Ross Santell
said it's easy to see the weight problem is alive and
well on black campuses.
"Many,
many, many students are obese," said Santell, organizer
of his campus' weight-loss effort, which includes passing
out pedometers. "If you look around campus, you
can see that clearly our student body is overweight."
Officials
at Wiley estimate nearly 25 percent of their students
are overweight, and at Lincoln University 90 students
and staffers have already signed up to shed pounds through
their eight-week, campus-wide fitness challenge.
At
Norfolk State, campus health experts will teach students
how to gauge their weight by calculating their body-mass
index and to chart weight loss through shrinking jean
sizes rather than dreaded weigh-ins.
In
dining halls, monthly theme nights highlight new kinds
of fruits and vegetables, while "PHAT stations"
across campus let students check their blood pressure
and heart rates.
"All
connect going toward the same outcome, which is to improve
the fitness of our folks," said Spartan Health
Center medical director John Anderson.
They're
battling more than just the lure of Burger King.
For
one, Anderson said they're up against decades of cultural
tradition that emphasize pig's feet, chitlins and other
soul food staples doctors say just aren't healthy.
Combine
that with a sense of invincibility and you get students
picking fried chicken over veggie burgers, he said.
Being
away from home also complicates things, said Lincoln
women's center director Michaile Rainey.
"Once
you come to college, you can pretty much pick and choose
what type of food and when you want to eat it,"
she said. "You can order Domino's at 2 a.m. because
you're studying. That's a contributor."
At
Norfolk, Carroll can testify. A former runner and volleyball
player, the Philadelphia native maintained a size 6
through high school. Now she's closer to a size 14.
"When
I got to college, it went from two meals a day to three
meals plus snacks," said Carroll, who estimates
that all of her six closest friends are over their ideal
weights.
Now
she tends to eat on the run, avoiding the square meal
and vegetarian options offered in campus cafeterias
in favor of grab-and-go sandwiches.
She
joined the health challenge in hopes of dropping 30
pounds and reaching her ideal of "thick" -
that is, thin, but with the strategic curves once praised
in the '90s rap classic "Baby Got Back."
"I'm
going into PR, where you need to have ... that magazine
look," she said. But today she chooses french fries
and a fried chicken sandwich.
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