Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Black Women Getting Shorter: Study

They're the only group to lose height over recent generations

By Katherine Thompson, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 26, 2008 1:17 PM CST

(Newser) – While most of the American population is slowly gaining in height after a recent plateau, one group actually seems to be shrinking over the decades. Black women have lost about a half-inch on average compared to the previous generation, the exact opposite of the national... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

2 comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Miami Face-Eater Identified

Chagas Disease the 'New AIDS of the Americas'

Chicago Tribune (Source Grid »)

Black women can get biggest benefits from exercise
Washington Post

How to turn around black infant mortality rates
Black PR Wire

US • Health

obesity • health • height • black women • high calorie diet

More Newser Stories

Black Women: Fat Because We Want to Be

Alice Randall: 80% of black women 'seriously overweight'

(NEWSER) - Most Americans need discipline in order to battle today's obesity epidemic—but in black America, "what we need is a body-culture revolution," writes Alice Randall in the New York Times . Even experts "don’t understand something crucial about black women and fat: many black women are fat because we want to be." This goes way back, from the Lucille Clifton poem "Homage to My Hips" (which starts, "These hips are big hips") to fatness as a form of political resistance to "the fit black slave." More»

Taller Women at Higher Risk for Ovarian Cancer

Oxford study shows slightly elevated danger

(NEWSER) - Taller women face a higher risk of ovarian cancer, although the difference is small, according to a new study out of Oxford University. "If we compare a woman who is 5 feet tall with a woman who is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, there is a relative difference in ovarian cancer risk of 23%," the lead researchers tells the BBC . "But the absolute risk difference is small. The shorter woman will have a lifetime risk of about 16-in-a-1,000, which increases to 20-in-a-1,000 for the taller woman." More»

Black Women Heavier, Happier With Bodies

66% of overweight or obese black women report having high self-esteem

(NEWSER) - Hefty can be heavenly. That seems to be the feeling of many black women. While they tend to be heavier than white women, they're significantly happier with their bodies, a Washington Post /Kaiser Family Foundation survey has discovered. While only 41% of average-sized or thin white women report having high self-esteem, 66% of overweight or obese black women feel the same, the study found. Observers says that black females are particularly adept at shrugging off social expectations that don't fit what they want for themselves. While 90% of black women surveyed said living a healthy lifestyle is important to them, that doesn't mean being tiny. "That's not what I grew up seeing. It's not about trying to identify with somebody else," said a medical technologist working out in a DC-area gym. More»

Kids Who Hate Mom Twice as Likely to Become Obese

Toddlers with poor relationships with mom may suffer in terms of health

(NEWSER) - Most parents have gotten an "I hate you!" tossed their way. But if your toddler really seems to mean it, Mom, you may want to figure out how to improve the relationship. A study set to be published next month found that toddlers who were ranked as having the worst emotional relationship with their moms were more than twice as likely to be obese at age 15 than those with a good relationship, reports the Daily Mail . More»

Work Is Less of a Workout These Days

We burn fewer calories on the job than people in the 1960s

(NEWSER) - You'll want to sit down for this—wait, you probably already are. Fewer jobs requiring even moderate physical activity contributes to workers burning 120 to 140 fewer calories on the job than they did in the '60s, reports USA Today . During an average workday, men burn an average of 142 fewer calories, women 124, says a study by top national physical activity experts. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Black Women Getting Shorter: Study

They're the only group to lose height over recent generations

obesity • health • height • black women • high calorie diet

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Black Women: Fat Because We Want to Be

Alice Randall: 80% of black women 'seriously overweight'

Taller Women at Higher Risk for Ovarian Cancer

Oxford study shows slightly elevated danger

Black Women Heavier, Happier With Bodies

66% of overweight or obese black women report having high self-esteem

Kids Who Hate Mom Twice as Likely to Become Obese

Toddlers with poor relationships with mom may suffer in terms of health

Work Is Less of a Workout These Days

We burn fewer calories on the job than people in the 1960s

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?