May 09, 2007 @ 2:51 pm

Men At Large Want to Slim Down

R&B duo challenges African American men to lose 2 million lbs.

Dave Tolliver and Edgar "Gemini" Porter, aka Men at Large, are challenging African American men to lose a collective 2 million pounds by the end of the year as a way to improve their health. The duo - who themselves weigh a collective 750 lbs. - decided to take the initiative after the passing of Gerald Levert, who helped nurture the group. "Gerald's death was a big loss to us," said Porter in a statement, "and when we began to look around at a lot of friends and family members who were also dying young it hit us that many of them were dying from either, being overweight, being diabetic, or having high blood pressure." "We realized we aren't as young as we used to be but obviously being overweight was having a serious impact on us," Porter continued. The singers' goal is to lose 100 lbs each, which Tolliver said they aim to do by "pushing back from the table and eating less," "walking a lot" and "rehearsing more vigorously to get in shape... Searching ways to lose weight on the internet let us know just how big the problem is among black men." Over 69% of African American men are thought to be overweight, and 40% of all black men have high blood pressure. Additionally, eight percent of black men suffer from diabetes - twice that of white men - according to statistics from the Center for Disease Control.

Article tags: Men, Large, Want, Slim, Down 

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