Obesity Among California Adults: Racial and Ethnic Differences

Obesity among California adults : racial and ethnic differences / Helen Lee p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references. Research publications reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, officers, or Board of Directors of the Public Policy Institute of California. Short sections of text, not to exceed three paragraphs, may be quoted without written permission provided that full attribution is given to the source and the above copyright notice is included. PPIC does not take or support positions on any ballot measure or on any local, state, or federal legislation, nor does it endorse, support, or oppose any political parties or candidates for public office. iii Foreword National attention has recently begun to focus on the alarming incidence of obesity among Americans. Obesity has been portrayed as a public health challenge of immense proportions—with implications for the productivity of the labor force and dramatic increases in health care costs today and for years to come. PPIC research fellow Helen Lee has looked at this national phenomenon to see whether it has also affected Californians. She found that in spite of the state's reputation as a state of sunshine and health-conscious individuals, the trends toward obesity in California mirror the national trends. The average man and woman gained between 12 and 15 pounds between 1990 and 2003. Disparities between racial and ethnic groups were also striking. For example, black and Hispanic women were between 14 and 19 pounds heavier than white women, depending on their height. Not surprisingly, the risk of obesity is also related to socioeconomic status. Those who have lower income and education levels, and those living in poor neighborhoods, have a higher risk of obesity. Perhaps the most important conclusion of this study is that even after controlling for individual and neighborhood characteristics, much of the higher risk of obesity among black and Hispanic women relative to white women remains unexplained. In the end, individual characteristics matter the most when predicting the risk of obesity. This is both good news and a challenge for policy interventions. It is possible to change personal behavior, as has been the case with successful national programs to discourage smoking. On the other hand, targeting programs to people and neighborhoods where the risk is highest presents a challenge simply because of limited funding and the tension between a iv national and local agenda. We trust …