Black atheletes must do heavy lifting on obesity issue
Kenneth J. Cooper
BWhat should black professional athletes be expected to do beyond performing in their respective sports? Be role models for youth? Spokesmen for their people? Supporters of charitable causes?
African Americans have been debating this since the days of Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis and even Jack Johnson. The time has come to agree on at least one suitable role, something athletes have to know well to keep their careers going. They should become public advocates of physical fitness, showing and telling people how to take care of their bodies.
Fortunately, some black athletes have already taken up this cause, driven by the urgency of the national epidemic of obese, lay-about children. Many more pros need to get involved and team up to maximize their impact.
Between 1980 and 2000, obesity doubled among all children and tripled among teens. Federal researchers estimate nearly one in six kids is overweight. The rate is higher for youngsters of color, if you include statistics for females: About one in four African Americans and Hispanics carry around excess fat.
These fat kids are likely to become even heavier adults at greater risk of serious health problems. Obesity is associated with heart disease, diabetes, asthma, some cancers, arthritis and, ultimately, death. Adult obesity contributes to African Americans suffering from heart disease and diabetes at higher rates than European Americans.
So far, the star of the athletes’ emerging campaign to coax kids to slim down is Shaquille O’Neal, whose primetime reality show on ABC this summer was more real than most. On “Shaq’s Big Challenge,” the NBA veteran cajoled six children who were way too fat to eat better and exercise regularly to strive for weight loss goals over six months.
The Miami Heat big man knew his coaching alone wouldn’t be enough, so he brought in experts as back-ups, including a nutritionist, his personal physician, a medical specialist in childhood obesity and a trainer. Shaq set the kids up in a gym and persuaded parents to lighten up meals. He hired a chef to prepare a healthful lunch in a middle school cafeteria, inspiring students to petition for a better menu.
The show was a worthy use of star power, though some sports columnists scoffed. One pointed out that Shaq isn’t exactly slim at 7-feet-1-inch and 335 pounds, 50 pounds heavier than he was when he joined the NBA in 1992. (He maintains he has never been overweight, and that his body fat has never exceeded 14 percent.) Another columnist recalled that in the past, Shaq endorsed the kind of fattening foods he advised his young charges to avoid — namely, Burger King Whoppers and Nestlé Crunch chocolate bars.
ABC deserves credit for creating the six-week show, which ended last week, even though airing it in the fall or spring would have drawn more viewers. The target audience could have been broader, too. With so many black boys in particular dreaming of playing pro basketball, Shaq could have noted that children who eat their vegetables as part of a balanced diet are likely to grow taller than they would be otherwise.
Allen Rossum, a 178-pound defensive back who plays for the Atlanta Falcons, jumped on obesity four years ago. His private foundation, created after two grandparents died from diabetes, is sending the right messages through the Allen Rossum Healthy Kids Klub.
A year ago, Rossum teamed with Jerry Stackhouse of the Dallas Mavericks to form the Professional Athletes Council to promote healthy living among young fans. The 11 other charter members, who include former Boston Celtic forward Al Jefferson, come from pro football, basketball, hockey and racing. One plays in the WNBA. All are black, except a white NASCAR driver.
The council set goals of raising $5 million, recruiting 100 athletes and holding “Healthy KidsFest” events in 50 markets, but it is uncertain how much has been accomplished in the intervening year. The group is allied with Action for Healthy Kids, a nonprofit partnership of more than 50 national groups formed in 2002.
The National Football League got into the game last year too, funding a $1.5 million program to promote physical exercises that students can do during their regular classes. However, there is a major problem with this approach. NFL teams keep chop-blocking the league’s anti-obesity drive by signing fat lineman to even fatter contracts. Fat linemen do not make good role models.
It is the Professional Athletes Council, or something like it, that holds the promise of a concerted, sustained campaign to save kids from eating and lazing themselves to death. The pro leagues should ante up funds and encourage players to participate because one star, no matter how big he is, can only do so much.
