Weighed down by discriminatory policing: Perceived unfair treatment and black-white disparities in waist circumference

Abstract

Police maltreatment, whether experienced personally or indirectly through one’s family or friends, represents a potentially harmful stressor, particularly for minority populations. We address this issue by investigating: (1) how waist circumference (WC) varies by personal and vicarious exposure to unfair treatment by police (UTBP); and (2) to what extent exposure to UTBP explains the black-white disparity in WC. We employed data collected from a community-based sample of black (n = 601) and white (n = 608) adults living in Nashville-Davidson county Tennessee to address these questions. Results from our final linear regression model showed that those who reported vicarious UTBP had WCs that were approximately 2 in. greater than those who did not (b = 2.03; p = 0.003). While personal UTBP was not linked to higher WC, a post-hoc analysis suggested that our ability to detect an association was complicated by selection. Binary mediation analysis revealed that differential exposure to vicarious UTBP accounted for approximately 12% of the black-white WC disparity among women. We found no black-white differences in WC among men. The association between vicarious UTBP and WC did not vary by age, race, or gender. Overall, our findings point toward the role of discriminatory policing as a potential upstream contributor to racial disparities in health.

A Pandemic on a Pandemic: Racism and COVID-19 in Blacks

“…Negative police interactions with the public have been well documented through the media, but research on the personal and vicarious affects have been limited. One study by McFarland et al. (2018) demonstrated that negative police interactions personally or vicariously experienced cause harm and stress, which is correlated to obesity and increased waist circumference and is a debilitating burden on Black individuals ( Boyd, 2018 ; McFarland et al., 2018 ).…”

Policing the Block: Pandemics, Systemic Racism, and the Blood of America

“…2014; Jones 2014; Kerrison and Sewell 2020; McFarland et al. 2018; Sewell 2017; Sewell and Jefferson 2016). They set the background upon which new threats to health lean into inequitably‐produced vulnerabilities revealing the social costs of infection from pathogens such as covid‐19.…”

“…He makes sure not to break into a run as he paces with sheer excitement at the thought of playing with his gaming buddies from across the world—an excitement that distracts him at school to the point that he isoftenrelegated to detention. He is always aware of the probability of policing—aggressive, unnecessary, and frequent (Boyd et al 2019; Brunson 2007; MacDonald et al 2007; McFarland et al 2019; Weitzer and Tuch 2014).…”

“…Now, that mere head nod—a defensive coping strategy, not an affirmation of allegiance—holds a different but equally disease–provoking risk (Geller et al 2014; McFarland et al 2019). As she walks towards her go–to place of health services in her greatest time of need (Sewell and Pingel 2020), the risks of having all those same illness conditions activated by walking through that single block evidencing a simple pat down are awakened again.…”

“…As she walks towards her go–to place of health services in her greatest time of need (Sewell and Pingel 2020), the risks of having all those same illness conditions activated by walking through that single block evidencing a simple pat down are awakened again. This time—through personal contact with a police officer—the accelerated aging, biological weathering, and allocated load (McFarland et al 2018; McFarland et al 2019) that she grapples with invisibly finally takes a toll that is unprovoked under mundane risks and circumstances.…”