Ruby Carter-Pikes (center), a 64-year-old great grandmother, beat out women half her age to place second in a bodybuilding contest in Atlanta, television station NBC 4 reports. Not only did Pikes finish second in the competition, she placed in the Fit Moms category, and was named Women’s Super Masters Champion.
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Pikes says her family’s poor health history inspires her to complete. Moreover, she believes that African-Americans and Latinos lack proper health education, making these groups more susceptible medical problems.
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“Coming from a black family, and most Hispanics, too, we die from high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, kidney failure, it’s not because of our genes, it’s because of what we eat,” she said.
According to her profile on Bodyproud.com, Pikes says she was “oldest of twelve siblings and the first granddaughter of 45 grandchildren.” Born and raised in rural Mississippi, Pikes says her grandparents were sharecroppers and grew most of the food she and the rest of her family ate. But, like many Blacks during that time, they lacked education and knowledge of the proper way to prepare food. So lots of salt, sugar, flour and fried foods were eaten.
WATCH 64-YEAR-OLD RUBY CARTER-PIKES COMPETE
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