Obesity rates for children in low-income communities with few parks are up to
nine times higher than for children in affluent areas with abundant recreational
access, according to a new report that analyzes childhood obesity in the cities
and communities of Los Angeles County.
The rates ranged from a low of 4% in Manhattan Beach, which has a median income
of $100,750 and 5.7 acres of green space per 1,000 people, to 37% in Maywood,
where the median income is $30,480 and 0.6 of an acre per 1,000 people is
devoted to recreation.
Other studies have linked obesity to income and park access, but the degree of
disparity in Los Angeles County "is always surprising and always very
disturbing," said Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, director of the county Department of
Public Health, which released the report Friday.
Countywide, almost 23% of public school students in the fifth, seventh and ninth
grades were obese in 2005, the report found.
Obesity is associated with diabetes, heart disease, asthma and bone and joint
problems.
"This is the biggest epidemic we have in Los Angeles County," Fielding said.
The Institute of Medicine recently called childhood obesity one of the 21st
century's most critical public health threats and said it could undo gains made
in life expectancy during the previous century. Rates for adults and children
have been rising nationwide since the mid-1970s.
"The statistics just highlight the work we still need to do," said Los Angeles
City Councilwoman Jan Perry. "They affirm that we're on the right track fighting
for more green space, more recreational activities, working with LAUSD to help
children make better food choices."
Perry has proposed a moratorium on fast-food restaurants in South L.A. that is
making its way through council committees. Her council district, which includes
parts of South L.A., has an obesity rate of 29% and 0.4 of an acre of parkland
per 1,000 people.
The county report, which can be accessed at lapublichealth.org/epi/, used U.S.
census data to rank communities according to an "economic hardship index" and
used the 2006 Thomas Bros. digital mapping database to quantify open and
recreational spaces.
Children are considered obese if their body mass index -- calculated based on
height and weight -- exceeds the 95th percentile for their age and gender.
