How we can close the gap in obesity care among Black Americans

Today almost 108 million adult Americans reside with obesity and this number is anticipated to extend significantly, crossing the line 50% threshold by 2030. While these statistics are undoubtedly spine-chilling, for Black Americans, 2030 is already here.

Obesity is more prevalent in the black community than in another demographic group in the United States. Unfortunately, 49.9% non-Hispanic black adults live with obesity. For Black women, the obesity epidemic is worse: about 4 out of 5 black women lives with chubby/obesity, the highest rate of any group in the US

As a health care provider and future US president National Medical Association (NMA) — the nation’s largest medical association fighting for parity and equity in medicine and eliminating health disparities in the Black community — I consider that addressing the obesity epidemic in the Black community has never been more urgent. I consider that if we don’t act quickly to handle and improve the health of Black Americans – including ensuring access to critical, life-saving treatments – we will miss the opportunity to reverse the consequences of obesity for tens of millions of Black Americans. And the consequences are disastrous.

Obesity exacerbates countless other conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, infant mortality, multiple cancers, limb amputations, and the most troubling of comorbidities reminiscent of obesity, heart problems, and kind 2 diabetes – of which 36.4 million Americans lived in 2021. Not only are black adults twice as more likely to be obese and develop the disease in comparison with white adults, but black Americans consistently experience strikingly higher morbidity and mortality from heart problems – and are greater than twice as more likely to die from the disease than whites adults.

For Black Americans, the public health challenges related to obesity are further exacerbated by the systemic barriers we commonly face in accessing health care. The Black community’s pursuit of health equity faces many social aspects and private barriers that lie far beyond the doctor’s office. However, one among the most significant battles is ensuring that Black Americans have equitable access to a comprehensive continuum of treatment and care options.

Effectively treating obesity requires physicians to tailor therapy to individual needs based on a spread of treatment options, which can include a healthier weight loss plan and every day exercise, surgery and anti-obesity medications (AOM). While no single treatment is an efficient solution, FDA-approved OMP medications are quickly showing that the fight against obesity can be won.

But for Black Americans, the fight doesn’t end there.

Health

Even though obesity is a treatable disease, Medicare prescription policies proceed to create obstacles for a lot of Black patients with chronic and catastrophic illnesses. Outdated Medicare regulations prevent many black seniors from accessing latest life-saving drugs, regardless that CDC reports show this 40% of adults aged 60 and over the end 41% disabled people they live with obesity. These Black beneficiaries depend on Medicare for basic medical health insurance and rely on it for access to key obesity treatment options.

Legislative bills were introduced on Capitol Hill in each the House and Senate but weren’t enacted. One key bill, including the Treating and Reducing Obesity Act (TROA), which might have given Medicare beneficiaries access to AOM under Medicare Part D, has been on hold for a decade while obesity rates rise across the country. Black Americans are paying the price with their lives. Congress, you will have a likelihood to make an enormous difference here by passing this laws.

Other federal insurers, including the Veterans Administration, Department of Defense, Indian Health Service, and Office of Personnel Management, offer AOM coverage to their beneficiaries and their families. Only our seniors, individuals with disabilities, and chronically and catastrophically ailing patients – a lot of whom are Black Medicare beneficiaries – remain without equitable access to those breakthrough metabolic therapies.

It’s time to advocate for legislative change that can ensure everyone has access to lifesaving obesity treatments. In 2019 the estimated annual cost of treating obesity in the US is $173 billion. Treatment costs for adults with obesity were $1,861 higher than for those without the disease.

For tens of millions of Americans – and particularly Black Americans who shoulder the brunt of the obesity epidemic – we cannot afford to attend any longer.

Prevention is essential. While these medications won’t ever replace good nutrition and adequate physical activity, it’s time to finally address the growing obesity epidemic by ensuring that individuals living with obesity have access to all the tools in their doctor’s toolbox – including AOM. When used in combination with lifestyle and behavioral changes, these medications can significantly improve health outcomes and quality of life for individuals with obesity.

For Black Americans affected by obesity, we have an ethical obligation as a society to collectively demand that obesity policies be updated to make health equity not only an aspiration, but a reality.