In the African-American community, we struggle with a lot of health problems that have a lot to do with our diet.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I really do believe that America has this weight problem - obesity issues - and we have all these diseases that we get - heart disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases - that are primarily lifestyle diseases.
A healthy diet is a solution to many of our health-care problems. It's the most important solution.
The abundance of cheap food with low nutritional value in the Western diet has wreaked havoc on our health; in America, one third of children and two thirds of adults are overweight or obese and are more likely to develop diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
African-Americans know about racism, but I don't think we really know the causes. I decided it's first of all a family problem.
I don't know if it's a racial thing or not, but it's hard for the Roundtrees to talk about health issues. People have to get over all that stuff.
People are unhappy when they are on diets, because it's 'don't do this, don't do that, do this, do that.'
We struggle with eating healthily, obesity, and access to good nutrition for everyone. But we have a great opportunity to get on the right side of this battle by beginning to think differently about the way that we eat and the way that we approach food.
One of the reasons it's so difficult to study the relationship between diet and disease is because many dietary behaviors are associated with non-dietary behaviors.
We help people to begin truly healthful diets, and it is absolutely wonderful to see, not only their success, but also their delight at their ability to break old habits and feel really healthy for a change.
I really believe that people don't have to eat healthy; they just have to know what they are eating, and then they'll eat better. That is really the movement we are behind.