However, those factors are not easy to quantify and measure. I chose to study, race, gender, age, urbanization, income, and region because they were quantifiable and had been studied by other researchers in a scientific manner. Many studies have been conducted to examine racial differences in obesity and heart disease. Though there seems to be consensus on the influence of race on overweight, the influence of race on heart disease still yields differing opinions. Though rates of overweight are comparable among males, among females the variance is dramatic.
Black women are far more likely to be overweight than white women.
This is attributable to both genetic and social factors. Thus, black women are genetically more prone to being overweight. Socially, black women tend to have a better body image than white women. Because they are more satisfied with their body weight, they are less diet obsessed than white women and therefore tend to weigh more. Though blacks seem to be prone to overweight, based on the data I have collected from the National Vital Statistics Reports, blacks have lower rates of heart disease than whites.