It’s a combo of diet & lifestyle. Both black & white culture in the area eat a lot of rich (delicious) food and drink heavily. These are generalities of course but are basically true.
As a New Orleans native I can attest that the above is true. Food
is New Orleans! Also, the city is known for its large booze consumption. As I was growing up all of this seemed perfectly normal. That's the culture. It's really no different than French kids who grow up drinking wine from childhood. That's their culture.
I was on a motorcycle trip in Canada one winter ( don't ask. It's a long story) and was freezing my butt off. By mid-afternoon on a weekday, I decided that I wanted to sit, have a quiet bourbon and warm up. Understand that I almost never drink anything alcoholic during the day, but between freezing and being tired and sore it seemed like a good idea. I pulled into a nice looking establishment that billed itself as a restaurant and bar. I walked in and went to the tiny bar. The bar area was empty and eventually a lady came behind the bar and asked if she could help me. "Yes," I said. "I'd like a bourbon over ice."
She looked at me like I had three heads and asked, "Wouldn't you like some food with that?"
"No ma'am," I replied. "Just the bourbon." She just didn't want to serve me a drink without something to eat. That's their culture.
In New Orleans, as others have observed, there's a very large homosexual population. That no doubt contributes to the death rate from corona, as many of these men have various comorbidities. As far as food goes, the White population tends to eat rich, fattening foods. The Blacks often just eat fast food crap and cheap groceries. It all adds weight. That's their culture.
Best
Doc