Don’t Sweat Your Hair Out: The Frequency of Exercise for African American Women with Natural Hair

Main Article Content

Afiya Mbilishaka
Avery Lacey

Keywords

physical activity, Appearance, Ethnicity

Abstract




Introduction: Within the past decade, a Natural Hair Movement has emerged in African American female communities which focuses on discontinuing toxic chemical use on the hair as a means to promote health behaviors, like exercise.
Methods: This study investigated exercise behaviors of a sample of 144 African American women with natural hair, ranging from 18-71 years of age. Participants answered questions about the frequency of moderate and vigorous-intensity exercise recommended by the American college of Sports Medicine.
Results: Although the sample identified chemical-free hair care choices and motivation to lose weight, only 15% engaged in exercise. There was a significant negative relationship between weight and frequency of vigorous-intensity exercise (r=- 0.173; p<0.05).
Conclusions: The findings suggest that populations of African American women with natural hair are mindful of the need to lose weight, yet the greatest percentages of participants reported that they did not engage in any exercise.




Abstract 353 | PDF Downloads 294

References

1. Hall R R, Francis S, Whitt-Glover M, Loftin-Bell K, Swett K., McMichael AJ. Hair Care Practice as a Barrier to Physical Activity in African American Women. JAMA Dermatol. 2013;149(3):310- 314.

2. Woolford S, Woolford-Hunt C, Sami A, Blake N, Williams D. No Sweat: African American girls’ opinions of hairstyle choices and physical activity. BMC Obesity.2016; 3: 31.

3. Whitt-Glover M, Bran D, Turner M. Ward S, Jackson E. Increasing physical activity among African-American women and girls. Current Sports Medicine Report. 2009; 8: 318-324.

4. Thompson W, Barksdale D. Physical inactivity in female African-American adolescents: Consequences, costs & care. Journal of National Black Nurses’ Association: JNBNA. 2010.

5. Versey H S. Centering perspectives on Black women, hair politics, and physical activity. American Journal of Public Health. 2014; 104(5): 810-815.

6. Haskell W, Lee I, Pate R, Powell K, Blair S, Franklin B, Marcera C, Heath G, Thompson P, Dauman A. Physical Activity and Public Health: Updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. American Heart Association Journal. 2007; 1081-1093.

7. Johnson T A, Bankhead T. Hair It Is: Examining the Experiences of Black Women with Natural Hair. Open Journal of Social Sciences. 2014; 2, 86-100.

8. Huebschmann, A., Campbell, L., Brown, D. & Dunn, A. “My hair or my health:” Overcoming barriers to physical activity in African American women with a focus on hairstyle-related factors. Women Health. 2016; 56(4):428-447.

9. Byrd A, Tharps L. Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America. 2014. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

10. Adewumi T, Flint N. Natural Evolutions One Hair Story. 2016; Retrieved from http://www.bwwla.org/natural-evolutions-one-hair-story/

11. Ellis-Hervey N, Doss A, Davis D, Nicks R, Araiza P. African American personal presentation: Psychology of hair and self-perception. Journal of Black Studies. 2016; 47, 869-882.

12. Neil L, Mbilishaka A. “Hey Curlfriends!”: Hair Care and Self-Care Messaging on YouTube by Black Women Natural Hair Vloggers. Journal of Black Studies. In press.

13. Ellington T. Social networking sites: A support system for African-American women wearing natural hair. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education. 2015; 8(1): 21- 29.

14. Alston G, Ellis-Hervey N. Exploring public pedagogy and the non-formal adult educator in 21st century contexts using qualitative video data analysis techniques. Learning Media and Technology. 2014; 40: 502-513. doi:10.1080/17439884. 2014.968168

15. Davis-Sivasothy A. The Science of Black Hair: A Comprehensive Guide to Textured Care. 2011; Stafford, TX: Saga Publishing Company.

16. Walton N, Carter E T Better Than Good Hair: The Curly Girl Guide to Healthy, Gorgeous Natural Hair. 2013; New York, NY: Harper Collins.

17. Mbilishaka A. PsychoHairapy: Using Hair as an Entry Point into Black Women’s Spiritual and Mental Health. Meridians: Feminism, Race & Transnationalism. 2018; 16(2): 382-392.