Promoting Physical Exercise and Mobility in African American Communities

Inadequate physical inactivity has increasingly been recognized as a leading cause of mobility problems and early mortality in the world. The low rate of physical activity among African Americans is further linked to chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Regular physical activity is considered a protective factor, not only for chronic conditions, but also risk factors for diseases, including hypertension, overweight, and obesity.

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Effects of Physical Inactivity in African American Communities

Black and African American populations in the US have the highest obesity rate, with the condition affecting 45% of Blacks compared to 30.6% of Whites. What’s more telling is that of the total African American population in the US, 37% of men and 50% of women are obese. From these numbers, it is not surprising that African Americans have one of the lowest physical activity rates among the ethnic groups in the US. Further, they are 38% less likely to incorporate fruits and vegetables into their diet as recommended.

Physical inactivity accounts for 6% of the annual global deaths as well as mobility problems that are likely to worsen in late life. Recent evidence shows that at least a quarter of the world’s population doesn’t achieve the recommended levels of physical activity, with the proportion being higher among women than men. For effective physical activity interventions, it is important to understand how various factors affect physical activity across socio demographic groups.

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Influence of Culture on Physical Activity and Mobility

Culture represents social norms, values, traditions, and people’s way of doing things. These norms are passed on from one generation to the other, and some may influence health behaviors. African Americans are bicultural, in that they belong to their ethnic and mainstream cultures. While conflicting norms regarding health behaviors may negatively affect their health, it has also been proven that two different cultures can positively impact one’s health behaviors and contribute to better health.

Indeed, many cultural factors come in the way of physical activity among African Americans. Attitudes, for instance, can play a significant role. Nowadays, fewer African Americans are walking to do errands, making them physically inactive to some extent. In the African cultures, women are the homemakers, and taking time from this responsibility to engage in recreational or leisure physical activity may be deemed inappropriate.

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Socioeconomic Status and Physical Activity

There has long been an assumption that people of high socioeconomic status are more physically active than those in a lower social class. The disparity across socioeconomic groups has been described as a cause of the disproportionate healthcare differences that affect African Americans. However, this assumption has recently been debunked as studies reporting occupational physical activity indicated that low socioeconomic groups are among the most active. High socioeconomic groups were considered the most active when considering leisure-time physical activity.

African Americans, especially those living below the poverty level, report high rates of inactive and sedentary lifestyles compared to other racial groups. Disparities in incomes also mean that African Americans have less access to leisure-time physical activity and other programs that are preferred by most. This way, they are more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses and mobility issues than any other ethnic group.

Blacks and African Americans who cannot afford fees and resources required hardly participate in physical activity. To them, sports club contributions and sports equipment are high expenditures, especially those who depend on social payments for everyday living. Particularly, African American parents may find refreshments and childcare services unnecessary costs and often forgo expenditure on their physical activity.

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Other Barriers to Physical Activity and Mobility Among African Americans

Despite their low physical activity rates, most African Americans are aware of the significance of regular physical activity. A systematic integrative literature review conducted revealed various barriers to physical activity, particularly among African American women. This review classified barriers as intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental.

Among the intrapersonal barriers (those within a person’s self or mind) that seemed to hinder physical activity the most were lack of time, knowledge, and motivation, health concerns, physical appearance concerns, monetary costs of exercise facilities or programs, and fatigue.

Interpersonal barriers (those occurring between people) included family responsibilities, lack of a physical activity partner, and lack of social support. Environmental barriers were also cited as reasons for the low rates of physical activity and mobility among African American women. 

Some of these included safety concerns, weather conditions, lack of facilities, lack of sidewalks, and lack of physically active African American role models.

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Promoting Physical Activity and Mobility among African Americans

African Americans are among the least physically active groups in the country, making them susceptible to chronic illnesses and early death. But what can be done to promote physical activity and mobility among this group?

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Community-Based Walking Programs

Among the interventions that are being implemented in African American communities is home-based walking. Brisk walking is a low-intensity physical activity that has been identified as one of the activities that can help reduce the risk of chronic illnesses like coronary heart disease and diabetes.

Walking is desirable to most African Americans as it is relatively low-cost and requires no special skills to participate. This simple activity can also involve the whole family, ensuring that both parents and children meet the recommended physical activity levels. A higher rate of physical activity would translate to healthier communities and help bring down the amputation rates of lower limbs due to chronic diseases.

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Government Interventions

The federal and state governments also have an important role to play in promoting physical activity and mobility. Particularly, the enactment of policies can help shape the macrosystem and act on the environmental factors that hinder physical activity among African Americans. By putting in place policies to influence the availability of resources that support physical activity, such as transport, parks, and public sports centers, physical activity in African American communities could improve significantly.

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Risk Factor Screening

Some studies have shown that being diagnosed with a chronic illness could be a motivator for physical activity. While this is a far-from-ideal situation, regular screening for risk factors for chronic illnesses in African American communities could motivate Black people to be mindful of their health through physical activity.

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Health Education Programs

In several Black and African American communities, lack of knowledge has been cited as a hindrance to physical activity. Healthcare professionals like podiatrists can develop education programs that could help African Americans better understand the importance of physical activity and educate them on various forms of physical activity they can engage in.

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Leveraging Advanced Technology for Amputation Prevention

The Wound Docs is a nationwide network of healthcare experts including vascular surgeons, wound care specialists, and podiatrists. In addition to bringing such experts together, The Wound Docs is leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and advanced biologics (skin substitutes) to achieve more favorable clinical outcomes in wound care as well as lowering the sky-high rates of amputations in African American communities.