Leading Nonprofit Organizations Join Forces to Empower Women and Change the National Dialogue Around Obesity
February 1, 2021 — HealthyWomen and Black Women’s Health Imperative, leading women’s health experts, today announced a partnership to raise awareness of obesity as a disease and national health crisis, in a manner that is free of stigma, judgment, and bias.
The multifaceted campaign, Reclaim Your Wellness, will focus on making obesity a healthcare priority, while improving the lives of people with obesity; changing how the world sees, prevents and treats obesity as a disease; and ensuring people living with obesity have access to science-based, comprehensive care.
Both partners will deliver tailored educational and lifestyle content and resources, along with interactive tools, podcasts and stories from real women on the physical and emotional impacts of obesity. A webinar series will convene renowned experts to elevate the conversation around underlying causes of obesity and treatments, while educating and empowering women across diverse communities. The first webinar, scheduled for February 19th from 1:00 pm- 2:00 pm EST, will feature Emmy and NAACP Image Award winning talk show host, actress, and author, Loni Love. Exciting fitness classes and healthy cooking sessions, both delivered virtually, will augment the journey to positive health outcomes.
“We know women with obesity have a higher chance of developing serious health conditions and diseases, including putting them at a higher risk for COVID-19,” said HealthyWomen’s CEO, Beth Battaglino, RN-C. “We also know there is a high level of shame and stigma associated with people living with obesity, and it is our goal to reduce this judgment and discrimination. This partnership will allow us to drive the conversation about the need to educate the public and healthcare industry about this condition and society’s damaging perceptions.”
“So often, the underlying causes of obesity are not fully examined when it comes to Black women, states Linda Goler Blount, MPH, President and CEO of Black Women’s Health Imperative. “However, studies have shown that Black women have on average, 15% more of the stress hormone, cortisol, in their blood stream at any point in time. This changes both our inflammatory and metabolic responses which raise our risk for being obese and for obesity-related syndromes. Our partnership with HealthyWomen provides both organizations with a platform to engage all women, healthcare providers and policymakers to understand and address the fundamental relationship between socially- and racially-mediated stress, obesity and disease.”
The program is funded by Novo Nordisk.
About Black Women’s Health Imperative
The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing health equity and social justice for Black women, across the lifespan, through policy, advocacy, education, research, and leadership development. The organization identifies the most pressing health issues that affect the nation’s 22 million Black women and girls and invests in the best of the best strategies and organizations that accomplish its goals. To learn more, please visit www.bwhi.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About HealthyWomen
HealthyWomen is the nation’s leading independent, nonprofit health information source for women. Its mission is to educate women to make informed health choices for themselves and their families by providing objective, research-based health information. For 30+ years, millions of women have turned to HealthyWomen for answers to their most personal healthcare questions. To learn more, please visit www.HealthyWomen.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.