By Clifford L. Williams

Black males, and men in general, it’s time to take our weight seriously. There’s a need to take a hard look at being overweight and address the issue of obesity.

Obesity is a chronic disease.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity affects 42.8% of middle-aged adults. It is closely related to several other chronic diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and certain cancers and joint diseases.

Being overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) between 25.0 and 29.9; a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese. Although the disease is chronic, it is treatable. For people living with obesity, weight management is more than just tracking the pounds.

Obesity can negatively impact your health, but the good news is that weight loss may improve some weight-related conditions. Knowing your BMI is a great first step when starting the conversation about weight management with a healthcare provider.

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health notes obesity is generally caused by overeating and moving too little. Suppose you consume high amounts of energy, particularly fat and sugars, but don’t burn off the energy through exercise and physical activity. In that case, much of the surplus energy will be stored by the body as fat.

Black men have seen the red flags and have chosen to act. You may cut off sugar and drinks, but exercise is what really matters. Long walks are a great place to start, and they may lead to other forms of exercise.

Getting more exercise and moving around may do wonders for your weight. Make a few adjustments occasionally; they might add up over time. Also, watch what you consume. No foods need to be eliminated from your diet, but portions should be reduced and healthy calorie intake increased.

Steps That Help Lead to a Healthier Lifestyle:

Consult Your Healthcare Provider About the Risks. You should talk to your doctor and ask them about creating a personalized strategy for you. Some Black men said they didn’t realize the dangers of being overweight until they were sick with diabetes or heart disease and their doctor brought up the link to their weight, according to research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Work with a Personal Trainer – Losing weight is a team effort that requires both a nutritious diet and regular physical activity. Like diets, there is no “right” way to exercise. You may get individualized advice on what to eat based on your body type and the recommendations of your nutritionist, in addition to a tailored exercise program to help you attain your objectives.

Set Realistic Goals—Just as you shouldn’t anticipate losing weight overnight, you shouldn’t acquire it overnight either. No weight reduction program that uses microwaves exists, and even if it did, it probably wouldn’t last. If your objectives are too ambitious, you run the danger of being disheartened when you fail to achieve them.

To Our Readers:

For information on other health-related issues regarding men’s health, please share your thoughts and/or concerns with the Post Newspaper Group editorial staff.

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By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has introduced two bills in the State Senate that could lower prescription drug prices for California residents.

Senate Bill (SB) 40, or the Insulin Affordability Act — and accompanying legislation, SB 41, or Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Reform — comprise Wiener’s Prescription Drug Affordability (PDA) Package.

Together, the bills would cap monthly co-pays for insulin at $35 (SB 40) and create regulations for pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) whose negotiation practices, critics say, have resulted in steep price increases for prescription drugs (SB 41).

“It makes no sense that people with diabetes in states like West Virginia can access affordable insulin while Californians are stuck with higher prices,” said Wiener in a statement.

“When basic life necessities like medication become unaffordable in Blue States, working people pay the price. As Democrats, we should be leading on making people’s lives better and more affordable,” continued Weiner. It is past time California caught up with other states and put basic protections in place to contain the astronomical cost of basic medications.”

SB 40’s proposed $35 monthly co-pay was written, in part, in response to the price of insulin tripling over the past decade, Wiener’s office says. As a result of the increase, one in four people using insulin has reported insulin underuse because they can’t afford the full dose.

About 4,037,000 adult Californians have diabetes, with an additional 263,000 cases of Type 1 diabetes diagnosed each year. This rate in new cases disproportionately affects the elderly, men, and low-income patients, Wiener’s office reports.

According to Wiener, SB 41 is his follow-up to similar legislation he introduced last year, SB 966, which was vetoed by Gov. Newsom.

Middlemen in the pharmaceutical industry, PBMs buy prescription drugs from manufacturers and then sell them to pharmacies and health plans. Their position as intermediaries allows them to charge high administrative fees and significantly higher prices for drugs to pharmacies than they paid originally. This practice results in higher costs for patients seeking the prescriptions they need.

“On behalf of the Californians we serve who live with chronic and rare diseases, we are grateful to Sen. Wiener for his commitment and attempt to hold pharmacy middlemen accountable for their anti-patient and anti-pharmacy practices,” stated Liz Helms, California Chronic Care Coalition President & CEO.  “Health care costs continue to rise when patients cannot afford medically necessary medications.”

SB 41 proposes that all PBMs be licensed and that they disclose basic information regarding their business practices to the licensing entity. It also calls for a number of other requirements and prohibitions, including limiting how fees may be charged and requiring transparency related to all fees assessed.

“This bill addresses some of the worst abuses by pharmacy benefit managers: lack of transparency, unfair business practices, steering, and price gouging,” said Jamie Court, President of Consumer Watchdog.

In 2022, drug spending in California grew by 12%, while total health premiums rose by just 4%. Last year, more than half of Californians either skipped or postponed mental and physical healthcare due to cost, putting their safety and well-being at risk. One in three reported holding medical debt, including half of low-income Californians.

So far, there is no organized opposition to the Prescription Drug Affordability package.

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By Dr. Imani McElroy,
Special to California Black Media 

As I became part of the small community of Black female surgeons, who represent less than 1% of all physicians, I embraced the responsibility with an understanding that part of my career would be dedicated to being a voice for marginalized and disenfranchised people.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I observed the vast economic divide that contributes to health care disparities. Unstable employment and housing, food deserts, underfunded schools, and escalating living expenses all play a significant role in poor health for Black patients.

They also are a direct reflection of centuries of systemic discrimination and racism that has crippled Black Americans dating back to the era of slavery.

The same issues have followed me personally. I live with asthma, which has quietly impacted my breathing since childhood. I have been fortunate to avoid long-term hospitalization, but I have had numerous visits to urgent care and emergency departments.

I discussed my symptoms with my primary care physicians over the years, but it wasn’t until my third year living in Boston that I found a physician who attended to my symptoms and made the necessary adjustments that finally controlled my asthma. My asthma had progressed steadily for 15 years and despite being in the medical field and being able to describe the decline, my symptoms were ignored.

This is a story that is too common among Black Americans. Even fame could not protect Serena Williams when she had to demand appropriate testing and treatment for blood clots in her lungs following the birth of her first child.

I understood that my role as a health care provider extended well beyond the walls of the operating room and the hospital.

The plight of Black Americans within health care and the discrimination we face is well documented in both medical and lay literature.

In medicine, we celebrate J. Marion Sims as the father of obstetrics, but until recently, we rarely mentioned that most of his medical breakthroughs were achieved through the suffering of Black women who were not adequately anesthetized as he experimented on some of the most delicate parts of their bodies. Books such as “Medical Apartheid” and “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” document the long history of Black bodies being used for scientific experimentation without any compensation or acknowledgment.

If we are going to have an honest discussion about the root cause of medical mistrust within the Black community, the conversation cannot simply begin and end with the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee.

It’s essential to recognize that the generational trauma endured by the Black community contributes significantly to its skepticism towards medical institutions.

Healthcare advocacy is multifaceted. From physician-led initiatives addressing policy and resource allocation, to research that intentionally and thoughtfully addresses disparities in access and outcomes, to development of integrated multidisciplinary treatment teams for personalized care plans, there is quite possibly no more important step than educating the lay person.

Gone are the days of blind trust in a physician simply because of their title.

Furthermore, being able to empower patients to advocate for their health care needs will also allow physicians to understand how medical conditions impact their patients’ quality of life and everyday activities. Shared decision-making rests on a patient’s ability to trust the providers caring for them. The medical community owes it to Black Americans to afford them this trust.

As an advocate, I aim to bridge the gap between medical literature and lay literature. Making sure that our community has updated and accessible information that can impact their understanding of their medical conditions and improve the quality of care they receive.

As a Black woman in America, I face my own challenges, including navigating the health care system, and finding providers who look like me, understand my unique needs, and are willing to engage with me despite my medical background.

As my family members grow older and begin to interact more frequently with medical providers, I find myself in the frustrating position of having to help them advocate for themselves in a system that does not always listen.

My white coat does not shield me from the realities of being Black in America and thus I feel it is my duty to become part of the solution in addressing disparities in healthcare.

While much of the work to fix this problem falls in the hands of physicians and providers, active participation is required from both sides.

Increased representation in clinical trials will improve our understanding of risk factors and treatment responses. Attending health fairs and community outreach events will help increase medical literacy and understanding. Being persistent and truthful about symptom progression or treatment side effects is equally as important to help inform decision making.

Most of our medical knowledge is hidden behind paywalls buried in medical jargon. My goal is to help make what is happening in the medical community more accessible to our community.

About the Author  

A native of the Bay Area, Dr. Imani E. McElroy is a clinical fellow of Vascular Surgery at USC Keck School of Medicine. She completed general surgery training at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. She has a master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and received a Doctor of Medicine from the Charles R. Drew University/UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California Irvine.  

This article is supported by the California Black Health Journalism Project, a program created by California Black Media, that addresses the top health challenges African Americans in California face. It relies on the input of community and practitioners; an awareness of historical factors, social contexts and root causes; and a strong focus on solutions as determined by policymakers, advocates and patients. 

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