Obesity, COVID-19, and Systemic Racism

Date: 

Tuesday, October 27, 2020, 4:00pm to 5:00pm

Location: 

online, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study presents:   Obesity, COVID-19, and Systemic Racism.  The health of Black people and communities across the nation has been—and, during the global pandemic, continues to be—significantly impacted by America’s history of slavery and by ongoing systemic oppression. Disparities in obesity and the differing frameworks that public health officials and the public bring to the issue of obesity are powerful examples of such legacies of slavery in the United States.

This program will explore how the historically rooted and uneven distribution of social supports drive obesity; how framing the disease as an individual rather than societal health concern affects policy; and how an ongoing lack of research and data fuels speculation that may reinforce racist stereotypes and prevent meaningful change. Panelists will also discuss how such considerations frame the national response to the pandemic, as people of color suffer and die disproportionately from COVID-19.

 

learn more and register here:  https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2020-obesity-covid-19-systemic-r...

See also: Harvard