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African-American women avoided exercise because of hair concerns
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Nearly 40 percent of African-American women in a survey reported avoiding exercise at times because of hair-related issues, according to recent study results.
Researchers in Winston-Salem, NC, surveyed 123 self-identified African-American women with a 40-item questionnaire at an academic dermatology department. Questions concerned hair care practices, physical activity (PA) and the relationship between the two. Principal outcome measures were the statistical significance of relationships between hair care habits and PA. Moderate-intensity aerobic PA for at least 150 minutes per week or vigorous-intensity aerobic PA for at least 75 minutes per week was used to define sufficient PA.
Amy McMichael
“As an African-American woman, I recognized that I had to make decisions about exercising that involved consideration of my hair,” researcher Amy McMichael, MD, a professor of dermatology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, told Healio.com. “I also recognized many women of African descent come to see me as patients with obesity, hypertension and diabetes as major health concerns. Some of these issues were intricately involved in why they were having some of the skin complaints they had.
“As part of my questions regarding weight management for their skin issues and overall health, it dawned on me that there were many women who were challenged with what to do with their hair while exercising.”
One hundred three women (mean age, 42.3 years) completed surveys. The most commonly reported type of PA was incidental activities (98.1%), followed by aerobic/gym activities (44.7%), sports-type activities (26%) and water activities (8.7%). Weight loss (P=.005), health (P<.001) and exercise (P=.005) were listed most commonly by sufficiently physically active respondents as key reasons for PA.
Thirty-nine women (37.9%) reported avoiding exercise at times, including swimming (35.9%) and aerobic/gym activities (29.1%), because of hair concerns. Fifty percent of the women considered modifying their hairstyle to facilitate exercise. Those who avoided exercise because of hair concerns were 2.9 times less likely (95% CI, 0.9-9.4) to meet sufficient PA definition.
Most women (62.1%) reported wearing their hair in a relaxed (chemically straightened) style. Eighty-four women (81.6%) washed their hair every 1 or 2 weeks because of dirtiness (43.7%), itchiness (42.7%) or dryness (21.4%). Women with normal scalps were significantly more likely to participate in aerobic/gym activities than women with scalp complaints (P=.05).
“Clinicians need to ask those patients who are at risk for obesity, diabetes and hypertension what barriers to exercise they might have,” McMichael said. “Patients can be asked specifically if hair is a problem and this can be addressed.”
Disclosure: See the study for a full list of relevant disclosures.
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