Study: Some Black Teens Pulled Between Health and Hair

Some girls and women in the black community feel as if they have to choose between their health and their hair, and this may play a role in the high rates of obesity seen in this population, new research shows.

Susan Woolford, M.D., MPH, , a pediatrician at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, along with her sister Carole Woolford-Hunt, Ph.D., of Andrews University in Michigan, and David Williams, Ph.D., of Harvard University, studied whether lower levels of physical activity among African-American teens were related to hair care.

The small study, which was recently published in BMC Obesity, included 36 African-American girls ages 14 to 17 in three states. It showed that adolescent girls preferred straightened hair, which was viewed as the most “attractive” style, and said they avoided getting wet or sweating during exercise because they worried it would ruin their hairstyle.

The study found that participants avoided getting wet or sweating during exercise because their straightened hair became “nappy and that braids with extensions and natural styles were viewed as better for exercise, but not viewed as attractive.

“We know that African-American children and women have a disproportionately high risk of obesity compared with their Caucasian peers. Interestingly, this difference becomes more apparent as girls get older, “ Woolford says. “At ages 6 to 11, the obesity rates are more similar. But by adolescence there is a marked difference (about 14 percent versus 29 percent) [and this may be due to the fact] that African-American girls may not be as physically active during adolescence, and we need to ask why.” 

Many black women in the U.S. go to great lengths to relax and straighten their natural hair.  Other studies have suggested that as many as 40 percent of adult black women have at one time avoided exercise because of concerns that it would ruin their hair.

“Much of my research explores the use of text messaging tools to help adolescents achieve a healthy weight, and our findings reinforce my interest in studying how we might incorporate texts tailored to this issue. For example, we could include photos of people with natural or braided hair exercising to encourage or inspire teens to do the same,” she says.

CAPTION: Susan Woolford, M.D., MPH, is a pediatrician at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.