A new study claims that many African-American women don’t exercise due to concerns about maintaining their hairstyles.

A survey of just over one hundred black women conducted by Dr. Amy McMichael and several of her colleagues at Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that 40% (2 out of 5) black women avoid exercise because of the their hair.

25% don’t exercise at all.

To find out if women were putting hair above their health, the  researchers surveyed 103 African-American women who came to the  dermatology clinic at Wake Forest University in October 2007.

They found that more than half of the women were exercising for less  than 75 minutes per week,which is less than the U.S. Department of  Health and Human Services’ recommendation of 150 minutes of  moderate-intensity exercise.

That’s also less than U.S. women on average, according to a 2007  study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that  found about half of all U.S. women were exercising close to 150 minutes  per week.

More than a quarter of the women in the new study said they didn’t exercise at all.

About a third of the women said they exercise less than they’d like  because of their hair, and half said they have considered changing their hair for exercise.

 

 

Read more at The Huffington Post.

This study is small, but can the results be extrapolated to make larger claims about black women’s exercise activity? Are there other factors contributing to whether black women choose to exercise?

 

Are you a black woman who has changed her hairstyle in order to increase physical activity?

Does the cost of maintaining your hair keep you from exercising as much as you should?

Sound off below!!!!