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How Black Women Continue to Challenge Statistics... By: Nyla Whalum C2016 Isn’t it interesting how black women continue to challenge statistics? Throughout the past year, black women have made many contributions to the forever important topic of health and fitness. The increase of African- American women in this segment of our wellness is necessary when looking at the statistics of our health history. In Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s article “Why Wellness,” she states that according a National Institute of Health study, by the age of seventeen more than half of black girls were reporting that they do little to no physical activity. With a combination of poor diet and lack of exercise, black women have been cutting their chances of living a long and fruitful life. But rather than letting this epidemic continue, black women have decided that it is time to make a change for the best by becoming more involved with their overall wellness. A great contributor to this “wellness revolution” is actress, lifestyle coach and fellow Spelman alumna AJ Johnson. Guided by wise words from her father, Johnson set out to impact the world by dedicating herself to wellness education, training and philanthropy thus creating “The AJ Zone”. She states that “The AJ Zone” is not only limited to physical fitness but incorporates lifestyle coaches is Jeanette Jenkins. For years Jenkins has shared her knowledge of health and wellness to millions of men and women throughout the country. Recently Jenkins has partnered up with Kelly Rowland and created the “6 Week Bootcamp Challenge”, targeting men and women to push themselves for six weeks to obtain amazing results. Jeanette’s mission is to use her education and experience to get men and women to live the best life they can. Along with these women, our very own Chavonne Shorter impacts the lives of Spelman students regarding health and fitness. Along with overseeing the Spelman Wellness program, she provides consultations on fitness and nutrition to Spelman students; Shorter enjoys assisting Spelman women reach their health and fitness goals. These women are taking steps to make an impact and inspire many to live a healthier lifestyle. Whether it is taking a Zumba class or drinking more water, strive for a healthier lifestyle and keeping working on your fitness! Chavonne Shorter AJ Johnson emotional, mental and spiritual wellness. Johnson pushes herself to impact and educate others about the importance of health, fitness and overall wellness. Another great contributor to health and fitness, and also one of the country’s leading healthy Jeanette Jenkins SpelmanPaper@gmail.com Feb/March 2014 23 The BluePrint