Black women start a movement to tackle their health crisis | Nation & World [Video]

(CNN) — Across the US, obesity rates have risen and life expectancy has declined. Our national health crisis has been especially dire for African-American women.

Among Black women ages 20 and older, more than half have heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.

And this same population is at the highest risk for strokes, which is the leading cause of death for Black women. The CDC reports that nearly 3 out of 5 African American women suffer from high blood pressure. Also, 3 out of 5 Black women suffer obesity.

The bottom line, according to the American Heart Association is that African American women are more likely to die at a younger age than women of other ethnicities.

Vanessa Garrison and T. Morgan Dixon refuse to accept this fate, and formed the nonprofit GirlTrek to reclaim their health through walking.

“It wasn’t because we were walking enthusiasts or because we love to walk. When we started …