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Poor teens are fattest in the state
December 11th, 2008, 6:00 am · 17 Comments · posted by Courtney Perkes
Poor teens are nearly three times more likely to be obese than other teens, according to new research from UCLA. Twenty-one percent of low-income teens are obese. Only 8 percent of teens from higher earning families are obese. The policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research cites the concentration of fast-food restaurants and scarcity of parks in poor neighborhoods as contributing factors. On average, poor teens live within a half-mile of five fast food or convenience stores. That’s more than double the ratio of fast food in other neighborhoods, researchers found.
The report notes that the LA City Council recently banned new fast food restaurants in a neighborhood with high obesity and limited fresh food choices. While fast food has been under fire, McDonald’s issued a statement on its nutrition:
McDonald’s has always been committed to providing a variety of wholesome, balanced menu options for all our customers…Our wide variety of menu choices can be made into meal combinations that provide less than one-third of the of the government’s daily recommendation for total fat, sodium, and calories.
In addition to eating more fast food, low income teens are far more likely to drink soda and watch more than two hours of television a day. The kids were also less likely to play a sport.
The news comes as no surprise to Latino Health Access of Santa Ana, which this week received a $10,000 award for teaching low-income families about diet and exercise. The nonprofit offers seven-week bilingual classes that teach healthy cooking and exercise. The group received the 2008 Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Spotlight Award on Tuesday. Latino Health Access’ efforts to fight obesity were featured in the 2007 PBS documentary “FAT: What No One Is Telling You.”
The UCLA study is based on data from the California Health Interview Survey. It was funded by the California Endowment, a private health foundation.
The Register’s Fast Food Maven has several posts on fast food and health:
- Worst (for you) fast-food Value Menu items
- Burger King to cut sodium in kids meals
- Dining tips: Not so easy to hold the salt
17 Comments
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Duh!!
It’s well known that weight, in general, typically breaks along class lines.
Everybody knows fast food is NOT good for you as part of a regular diet. Parent’s who allow their children to eat outside the home all the time need to be held responsible for their children’s obesity.
stop eating Burger King and KFC every day and you’ll be fine.
btw Subway, El Pollo Loco, Panda Express, etc has tons of healthy options as do other “fast food” places. it’s only because these kids are addicted to burgers and fries because their parents take them there, and don’t teach them how to make good decisions about their eating. Subway’s everywhere, not just in affluent areas. if Jared can do it so can they.
thats because there mommies can’t afford lipo for them.
Unfortunately low income areas are tied into ignorance areas as well. Not saying all people are but I’m sure if a census was taken you would see how this is demographic. Go into Santa Ana, Stanton or Anaheim and take a look around at the masses. Then go into Irvine, Mission Viejo or Villa Park and tell me what the folks look like in those areas.
It’s a good thing that “Latino Health Access” educate people because that’s what they need first. How are these kids supposed to know how to eat & get into sports if their parents are not setting the example first?
Must be all those free school meals.
STOP EATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t care what they eat, but please don’t dress like the girl in the photo. I see that all the time and I don’t know if they think it’s sexy or what.
unfortunately, it costs WAY more to eat an equivalent amount of, say, asparagus or broccoli than it does to eat a 2 dollar cheeseburger and fries. This has little to do with the prevalence of fast foods in a given area, the leniency of parents or anything else. It is simply a cost equation. If 2 bucks fills your child’s empty stomach full of food that’s fattening, you’re going to choose that over 5 bucks to fill it with something healthy. It’s simple economics. One can only buy what one can afford to buy. Make asparagus 10 cents a pound and I guarantee it will be flying off the supermarket shelves.
Consider the following statistic (put out by the american diabetic association):
On average, low-income families would have to devote 43-70% of their food budget to meet the fruit and veggie dietary guidelines.
THAT is the problem.
Wow… this nation has become like russia of the late eighties. All the women there were huge. Now it’s reversed. All the women here are huge and the women in russia are fine. Gee, I wonder how this happened? Can we ship our women to russia and bring their women here?
The photo made me lose my appetite.
She needs a Play Station 3 fast. Hope her parents are lining up at the next Wal-Mart sale.
That photo is sad. For all the’s girls that have a belly like that one it’s NOT sexy. U know I was like that once now im skinny because i stoped eating fast food and played DDR. In sted of haveing bugers and fries and a soda for lunch try haveing a fruit salad and yogot and water it’s health.
SO LOOK HEALTHY, PRETTY, AND SKINNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[...] NEW BLOG: Healthy Living: Is this food good for you? Poor teens are fattest in the state [...]
I blame the teens 100%. i dont care if the article says they’re poor or not, I’m only 18 years old myself, perfectly fit, and i’m most certainly in that “poor” category with this LOVELY economy… *cough*
A head of lettuce isn’t going to break the bank, go snag some veggies, maybe some tuna or chicken and make yourself a very delicious and nutritious salad! I know alot of people reading this are going to be like “EEEW SALAD, gimme a burger or sumthn man!” but trust me, 5 minutes of eating that fatty burger is NOT worth the week of extra cardio just to get rid of the calories.
I myself lost 70 lbs between the age of 16-17. and was even featured in The Orange County Register, and i wish more of my peers would do the same. I’ve been campaigning a healthier America, and it starts with the children! Schools and parents are failing to educate their children properly about nutrition, and they teach them instead about finances and economics. Now, just thinking about that, what is a child to do when he is presented with a $0.99 cheeseburger, compared to a $6.99 salad? Sure, the nutritional difference is clear-cut to all of us, but in the childs mind, he can buy 7 burgers for the price of that salad.
think back to when you were in school, which did u learn first, how to count money? or how to count calories?
I think the sadest thing to happen to America is all the fast food restaurants that we have. Cheap food filled with fat, sodium and other crap - nothing fresh or healthy. Yes, if you can get a $.99 cheeseburger a fill your stomach then why not? It is a lot better to buy healthy and eat healthy but we are not going to find it a fast-food places. It is easy for people to tell the poor teenagers to stop eating that stuff but what else are they supposed to eat if their family can not afford to buy the good stuf.
The high sugar content of sodas is a leading cause of obesity. Note that at many fast food restaurants, you can load up on free refills. Every 10 ounces of soda is over 30 grams of sugar. Teach these kids to drink water rather than sweet sodas or drinks. Don’t the schools have health education classes?
It’s funny how 1000 years ago if you were fat it was a symbol of wealth, and now it symbolizes that you’re poor