San Diego – The San Diego Black Health Associates (SDBHA) is convening its second Community Educational Forum to FIGHT OBESITY in the African American community. The forum will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2014 from 9:00 AM to 1:30 pm at the Tubman Chavez Multicultural Center at 415 Euclid Avenue (at the corner of Market Street and Euclid Avenue). The focus of this gathering is to target resources, opportunities and attitudes to throw off the pain of being overweight through personal empowerment to optimal health.
The forum will begin with EASY exercises and a discussion about the importance of being active. Clovis Honore, President of SDBHA noted: “We feel that obesity is a major physical and emotional burden that plagues our community. No one wants to be overweight, but some aspects of American culture do not support maintaining a healthy weight. In addition, being obese can mask adverse childhood experiences which were (and are) disruptive. We must learn to balance dietary practices and exercise within healthy limits”.
This wellness session will present individuals who have practical and doable ideas and strategies and who report successes for losing weight, explained Clovis.
“We want to work towards a higher level of consciousness and help families adopt a more balanced approach to weight management”.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported (2013) that African American women and men were found to be among the most overweight and obese groups in the United States. Non-Hispanic blacks had the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (47.8%) followed by Hispanics (42.5%), non-Hispanic whites (32.6%), and non-Hispanic Asians (10.8%) In 2011-2012, childhood obesity rates were higher among Hispanic children (22.4%) and non-Hispanic black youth (20.2%) than non-Hispanic white youth (14.1%).
One of the panelists at the forum will be Nikki Legros, an Executive Assistant with the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint Newspaper. “Obesity has ALWAYS run in my family”, explained Ms. Legros. “I promised myself, that I would not pass these behaviors on to my children or my children’s children so that they could carry forward this same legacy of obesity. The cycle ends here and now!!”
Nikki noted “It’s more than weight loss for me. I want to be healthy. Diabetes and high blood pressure run in my family and I refuse to be another statistic. I want to be able to jog, walk into any store and pull something off the rack. At the end of the day, I just want to be healthy”.
Ms. Legros considered a number of diet aid strategies to help guide her evolution into weight reduction. “I chose a particular supplement choice over other products because it was natural. That was the first aspect that sparked my interest. Also, it was presented to me as a single “Crystal Light” like packet. I just had to put in water and drink it. There were no juicers to clean and no mess to make. It was presented as a supplement, and not a meal replacement. When this diet enhancer was presented to me, the representative believed in the product, which made it a “no brainer”.
Also speaking at the forum will be Darlene Edgley, President and CEO of Instant Recess. “Instant Recess: How to Build a Fit Nation Ten Minutes at a Time” was a book written by Dr. Antronette Yancy, MD, MPH. This innovative strategy to get people in the United States moving, even for brief periods of time, was one of Dr. Yancy’s success stories.
Dr. David Satcher, MD, Ph.D, the 16th U.S Surgeon General said “Instant Recess is a practical approach to increasing physical activity in populations. It is doable in just about any setting. It could get America moving again”.
The obesity forum will also present a cross-section of natural healing specialists who will discuss alternative strategies for weight loss. “I have found that weight loss begins in the mind”, explained Tukufu Kalonji, Community Health Advocate who has lost over 50 pounds during the past two and a half years.
“Having survived two heart attacks and a stroke, I became convinced of the need to rescue and reconstruct my health with common sense. I became a vegan, which has provided me adequate fruits, vegetables, proteins and other minerals to better balance my diet. I also practice a combination of nutrition, exercise, rest, detoxification, and stress management – a process we called NERDS.”
Other participants include N. Diane Moss from the Mount Hope Community Garden and lunch will be provided by Makeda Dread from the World Beat Center.
The San Diego Black Health Associates is a non-profit organization working to eliminate health disparities and promote optimal health for African Americans and African refugees. Over the past 35 years, SDBHA has actively sponsored information and education sessions, conducted conferences and public policy advocacy forums, convened professional development sessions, provided member support services and conducted research. In 2012, SDBHA launched a Men’s Health Project, where individuals are encouraged to walk at Chollas Lake every Tuesday at 7:00 Am and Saturday at 8:00 AM. In addition, the group conducts blood pressure and diabetes screenings and provides health awareness presentations at churches, community based organizations in the area.
For further information, contact [email protected] or call (619) 906-4002
