Quote:
Originally Posted by JayKon
It looks like obesity rates in blacks are higher in the Americas than in Africa. The hypothesis I would like to explore is that it has to do with the survival rate of people transported during the North Atlantic Slave Trade.
The hypothesis is that those people who stored fat more efficiently survived the trip a higher percentage of the time than those who died during the trip. Thus, when high-fat foods become more available, those survivors (and their descendants) get fat more easily.
I'm not expecting an "answer", rather I'm trying to flesh out the question more effectively.
The last guy who tried to flesh out the question lost his job;
See this article on Jimmy the Greek
I actually believe that what Jimmy the Greek said was true that because the survival rate of those being shipped to America was roughly 15% overall (
see this article) though it was closer to 30% in the beginning and that it might have sped up the evolutionary process of better physicality and could be at least partly responsible for the fact that virtually 80% of the NBA is some part Black (the high was 82% in the 1990's but now is closer to 74% probably because of European players).
I hadn't really ever thought about having extra fat would protect you from travelling on those slave ships.
This article discloses that almost all of the deaths on slave ships happened during the middle of the journey and was a result of disease not starvation.
I have never heard a discussion about survival during slavery where not being provided enough food could lead to obesity related issues where the fatter you are genetically the better chances you survive. But it does seem possible that it could contribute to current day obesity for Blacks (though I think the far greater contributor would be economics leading to consumption of fattier and processed foods).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubble_Balls
A genetic cause is worth examining if Black people are still obese at higher rates than other groups after you control for all the differences in diet and exercise. OP can make that case. Right now it’s black Americans are fatter than black Africans, it must be good survival genes. I don’t think that’s necessarily racist but it’s an odd leap when the most likely answer is a difference in calorie intake and physical activity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 57 On Red
If black Americans are inclined to be even fatter than white Americans, it is probably because they are on average less well off, and the US class system is heavily enforced, not only in terms of what health cover you can afford but what food you can afford. Decent food is made expensive and 'boutique' whereas the lowest-common-denominator highly-processed output of US agribusiness, impregnated with high-fructose corn syrup and God knows what else, is offered cheap and consumed by 'them over there' (on the other side of the tracks) rather than 'us over here'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayKon
No. The problem is multifaceted and complex. However, larger population densities and liberal policies regarding law enforcement contribute to the problem.
Lol.
I lived in NYC for 50 years starting in 1956.
NYC is highly divergent and there is massive conservative populations in Staten Island and in Queens. In a city of 8 million people the conservative population has always been substantial. We had mostly republican mayors for a long time. Even when NYC became more liberal, Rudi Giuliani was elected Mayor several times as was Bloomberg (3 times). Now in fairness Bloomberg was a Democrat who ran as a Republican (kind of like Trump) so he could win.
During Giuliani's terms the police in NY went after Black citizens at a much higher rate than whites in terms of searches for weapons. Similarly under Bloomberg.
Living in a "Liberal" city does not mean that Liberal policies always prevail nor does it mean that there would be fewer racist crimes. In fact racist crimes may tend to increase because the racists who live in the city start to feel downgraded by the liberal policies that protect Blacks and other minorities from discrimination. Which means that fewer entitled whites get to benefit from the color of their skin and now have to compete for jobs with intelligence and skill instead.
