Written on behalf of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Move more, eat better. It’s a simple call to action that, if followed, may reduce disease risk and improve health.
With this message, the NIDDK—with input from black women and other partners, including Harvard University and Tufts University—launched Sisters Together: Move More, Eat Better, a national movement to inspire black women to improve their health through regular physical activity and healthy eating.
As health care professionals, you know the greater risk of health conditions people with overweight and obesity may face: problems that include but are not limited to type 2 diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, heart disease, sleep apnea, and other problems such as employment discrimination and social stigma. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 57 percent of U.S. black women have obesity. Through regular physical activity, healthy eating, and other lifestyle changes, such as adequate sleep and developing skills to cope with stress, black women may be more likely to achieve and maintain a healthy weight to improve health outcomes.
What can you do to keep the movement going? National Women’s Health Week, May 13-19, may be a good time to consider talking with your patients, colleagues, health care organizations, and others about starting a Sisters Together program where you live, work, and network.
Moving More and Eating Better
Sisters Together helps black women
- set realistic goals to improve health behaviors
- support and motivate one another
- recognize and overcome barriers to healthy living
Programs organize activities including walking groups, healthy cooking demonstrations, and healthy recipe exchanges in popular locations such as places of worship, recreation centers, parks, members’ homes, and local businesses.
Six Steps to Success
With intimate knowledge of the black women you serve and their health needs, you and other health care providers can play a vital role in participating in, or helping to launch, a Sisters Together program. The Sisters Together Program Guide includes information and resources for creating a program to help health care professionals, community educators, and anyone else with an interest in improving their community’s health get started. Starting a program involves six steps:
- Step 1: Getting Started
- Step 2: Identifying Community Resources
- Step 3: Setting Your Goals
- Step 4: Spreading the Word about Sisters Together
- Step 5: Planning Activities
- Step 6: Measuring Your Success
Although the main audience for Sisters Together is black women, you can adapt the program to different audiences, including black men and teens.
If you’re interested in starting or championing a Sisters Together program, you can listen to our Sisters Together webinar and download the Sisters Together Program Guide and additional resources.
Small Steps Add Up
In the meantime, you can encourage the black women you care for to take small steps to improve their health over time, such as swapping out sugar-sweetened drinks for water or other unsweetened drinks, or using a free, online tool to track their food intake and sleep.
The NIDDK has tools and information to help adults and youth reduce disease risk and improve overall health. The institute supports basic and clinical research on how eating, physical activity, and other factors affect health and weight; and how to treat weight-related health problems such as type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Follow the NIDDK on Facebook and Twitter for updates about resources, research, and other activities.
Spread the Word! Share this post with your network using this sample tweet: It’s #NWHW! #HCPs: Join your patients or colleagues in starting a #SistersTogether program to help women in the community move more and eat better. Read more on the BAYW blog with tips from @NIDDKgov: https://bit.ly/2wtPAT0