SAN DIEGO, CA—February 14, 2022—On Thursday, February 17, Dr. Antonio Williams, American Council on Exercise Board of Directors member, will be joined by Deputy Director Pamela Price of The Balm in Gilead to discuss the intersection on public health and places of worship. Also joining the panel of speakers is ACE Certified exercise professional and owner of Fit To Go, Ricky Martin.
The panelists will unpack health disparities in Black communities and how public health and exercise professionals may play a pivotal role in combating chronic disease.
This free Facebook Live discussion runs from 10-10:30 a.m. PST and is in observation of Black History Month and can be viewed live on ACE’s Facebook page.
There are many structural inequalities and health disparities that affect the Black community. Many Black Americans don’t have access to quality health and fitness-related resources, with predominantly Black neighborhoods often lacking a gym or recreational center. These social determinants of health then manifest themselves in underlying health conditions like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
More on the panelists:
Antonio Williams, Ph.D. – Board Member, American Council on Exercise; Associate Professor, Associate Department Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of Sport Marketing & Management, Indiana University – Bloomington School of Public Health, Department of Kinesiology
Pamela Price – Deputy Director of The Balm in Gilead
Ricky Martin – ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer, CDC Prediabetes Prevention Lifestyle Coach, and Owner of Fit To Go
According to medical professionals, Black communities are at higher risk for lifestyle-related disease. Some of these higher propensities and causes of these risks include:
30% of non-Hispanic Blacks are physically inactive outside of work (CDC, 2022)
20.2% of Black/African American adults aged 18 and over are in fair or poor health (NHIS, 2019)
26.2% of Black men aged 20 and over are obese (2015-2018) (US Dept of Health, 2019)
19.2% of Black women aged 20 and over are obese (2015-2018) (US Dept of Health, 2019)
56.8% of men aged 20 and over have hypertension (measured high blood pressure and/or taking antihypertensive medication) (2015-2018) (US Dept of Health, 2019)
57.6% of women aged 20 and over have hypertension (2015-2018) (US Dept of Health, 2019)
14.3% of Black/African American adults aged 18–64 are without health insurance coverage
Leading causes of death for Black/African Americans are Heart Disease, Cancer, and COVID-19 (CDC, 2020)
For more information or to schedule an interview with Antonio Williams, Ph.D., please contact Byron Kimball at Byron@gomixte.com or 619-732-0789 ext. 297.
About ACE
Since 1985, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) has been the leading non-profit education and certification provider for health coaches and exercise professionals in the United States and around the world.
With more than 90,000 highly respected certified health coaches and exercise professionals, ACE Certified Professionals are on the ground daily helping people move, stay active and make lasting lifestyle behavior change to build healthier communities.
Headquartered in San Diego, ACE collaborates with public health partners to educate people of all backgrounds about the importance of physical activity and other healthy lifestyle behaviors; advocates for public policies to increase physical activity opportunities; and supports scientific research that investigates the efficacy of behavior-change interventions and the effectiveness of exercise practices and trends.
For more information visit www.acefitness.org/about-ace. AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EXERCISE, ACE and ACE logos are Registered Trademarks of the American Council on Exercise.