INTRODUCTION

Americans have one of the most unhealthy diets in the world. The citizens of the world’s richest country are drowning in the world’s "richest" (not best) foods. Most Americans eat high amounts of:

• processed foods;
• sugar;
• red meat;
• unhealthy fats.

This has led to equally high rates of:

• obesity;
• hypertension;
• diabetes;
• heart disease.

Unfortunately, African Americans are no exception, suffering from these problems at even greater rates than white Americans.

In comparison, Africans have low rates of the diseases mentioned above. Yet genetics cannot account for these differences. As Brian Katcher points out in his article, Lessons Learned from the African Diaspora: Health of Related Populations in Different Cultural Contexts, Africans and African- Americans come from similar genetic pools, but have very different health outcomes. In part, the roots of this difference can be found in different exercise and dietary habits.

West Africa: A Historical Background