RESEARCH STUDY: Race Discrimination Linked to Health Disparities
According to UCLA researchers…"The experience of racial discrimination may be a key factor in explaining why African Americans have higher rates of obesity and suffer at higher rates from such diseases as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.”
Yes, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!! The stress caused by being aggravated, targeted, and attacked by active racists in America may cause Black people to have health issues! So, for example, after a Black person is targeted by White coworkers and is falsely terminated, causing that Black person to not know how they’re going to feed their kids or pay their rent—the Black person’s blood pressure is probably going to go up. Bet, you couldn’t guess that’d be the end result!
But, seriously, I know people like to blame the high incidences of diabetes and high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disorders on the diet of African Americans (because the only seasonings we supposedly use are salt and sugar), but any fool would know that life is hard, in general, and it’s exceedingly hard when coping with rampant racism is thrown into the equation.
Despite my “Well, duh!” reaction, the study does include some interesting commentary on the physiological response that our bodies go through simply when we perceive discrimination. According to Vickie Mays (African American), the lead author on the report and a UCLA professor of psychology and health services and Director of the Center for Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities, “When a person experiences discrimination, the body develops a cognitive response in which it recognizes the discrimination as something that is bad and should be defended against.” She said this response occurs for the most part even if the person merely perceives that discrimination is a possibility.
Starting with the brain's recognition of discrimination, the body sets into motion a series of physiological responses to protect itself from these stressful negative experiences, Mays said. These physiological responses include biochemical reactions, hyper-vigilance and elevated blood pressure and heart rate. With many African Americans, these responses may occur so frequently that they eventually result in the physiological system not working correctly.
According to Mays, the experience of race-based discrimination for some African Americans is akin to the response a person's body mounts when it experiences significant life-threatening danger, such as fear for a person's life or of a possible attack. She said that if the body mounts a response to protect itself against a "life-threatening" experience on a regular basis, after awhile it is strained and overworked. Many of the chemicals that come to its rescue can damage systems in the body that are associated with disease and obesity.
The report will be released in an upcoming issue of the Annual Review of Psychology (Vol. 58).
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061027183652.htm
Yes, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!! The stress caused by being aggravated, targeted, and attacked by active racists in America may cause Black people to have health issues! So, for example, after a Black person is targeted by White coworkers and is falsely terminated, causing that Black person to not know how they’re going to feed their kids or pay their rent—the Black person’s blood pressure is probably going to go up. Bet, you couldn’t guess that’d be the end result!
But, seriously, I know people like to blame the high incidences of diabetes and high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disorders on the diet of African Americans (because the only seasonings we supposedly use are salt and sugar), but any fool would know that life is hard, in general, and it’s exceedingly hard when coping with rampant racism is thrown into the equation.
Despite my “Well, duh!” reaction, the study does include some interesting commentary on the physiological response that our bodies go through simply when we perceive discrimination. According to Vickie Mays (African American), the lead author on the report and a UCLA professor of psychology and health services and Director of the Center for Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities, “When a person experiences discrimination, the body develops a cognitive response in which it recognizes the discrimination as something that is bad and should be defended against.” She said this response occurs for the most part even if the person merely perceives that discrimination is a possibility.
Starting with the brain's recognition of discrimination, the body sets into motion a series of physiological responses to protect itself from these stressful negative experiences, Mays said. These physiological responses include biochemical reactions, hyper-vigilance and elevated blood pressure and heart rate. With many African Americans, these responses may occur so frequently that they eventually result in the physiological system not working correctly.
According to Mays, the experience of race-based discrimination for some African Americans is akin to the response a person's body mounts when it experiences significant life-threatening danger, such as fear for a person's life or of a possible attack. She said that if the body mounts a response to protect itself against a "life-threatening" experience on a regular basis, after awhile it is strained and overworked. Many of the chemicals that come to its rescue can damage systems in the body that are associated with disease and obesity.
The report will be released in an upcoming issue of the Annual Review of Psychology (Vol. 58).
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061027183652.htm
posted by S. Mary Wills at 8:57 AM
2 Comments:
This seems like a lot of wasted money. Tell me something I don't know! This money would be better spent studying racists than studying the victims of racism. Let's figure out what part of their frontal lobe is screwed up and see if we can't fix that!
Some White people like to say that times have changed and that we're all equals. Or, they'll say that color shouldn't matter or be an issue anymore. But, ask them if they could accept the image of a Black Jesus and watch all hell break loose. They don't even want a picture of Black Santa Claus! Color does matter. And, racism can kill you...literally. It's no wonder or life expectancy is shorter than other races.
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