Do you live in a safe place for your children to play? Are there adequate parks and recreation centers available year-round for our children? Do local grocers and corner stores provide fresh fruits and vegetables? Do families have access to healthcare? African American children are more likely to be poor, obese, and live in unsafe communities where there are few opportunities for physical activity, higher exposures to harmful environmental factors, fewer supermarkets, and limited access to healthy food options.
Factors that increase obesity:
- Increase food portions
- Promotion of processed food culture
- Increased marketing efforts that target children
- Developed and built neighborhoods that hinder or prevent outdoor physical physical activity
- Limited physical activity in schools
- The ignored need for access to healthy foods in communities of color
- Reduced access to safe green spaces in many neighborhoods
- Failure to educate, influence, and inform families about good nutrition
The NAACP is committed to using our voice to combat this silent killer. We are calling upon communities of color to join us in our quest in building healthier neighborhoods and advocating for policy changes that help to reduce childhood obesity rates among African Americans.