Child Obesity Rates Reflect Socioeconomic Disparities: The Need for Targeting Health Philanthropy
posted on: Thursday, December 29, 2011
By Niki Jagpal
A December 28, 2011 L.A. Times article titled “A vast child obesity gap between affluent city, lower-income one,” includes some sobering statistics on child obesity rates. Overall obesity among the young is starting to decline in California and across the country. Yet, the article notes that only 4 percent of children residing in the predominantly white and rich Manhattan Beach are obese while Bell Gardens has a rate of 36 percent, higher than any city in the county. The latter city is predominantly Latino and poor. In addition to the lack of availability of healthful food in Bell Gardens, cultural factors are at play here as well. The article states that there is a misperception among some Latino families that larger children are in fact healthier.
Some additional statistics help understand the level of disparity between the two cities. As noted in the article, Manhattan Beach comprises some 36,000 residents and median household income is $127,000. The city is 80 percent white, only 3 percent of the population lives in poverty and violent crime rates are low. In contrast, in Bell Gardens, median household income is less than one-third that of Manhattan Beach’s, the population is primarily Latino at 96 percent of 44,000, just 4 percent of adults over the age of 25 have a college degree compared to 75 percent in Manhattan Beach and violent crimes are far more prevalent.
“Researchers have drawn strong links between obesity and such socioeconomic disparities. Families in low-income areas are less aware of the harm that beverages and foods sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup can cause, said Dr. James Marks of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. And schools in low-income areas generally have fewer physical education programs and may offer less healthful options in school cafeteria lunches, he said.”
The stark differences between Manhattan Beach and Bell Gardens demonstrate why any health philanthropist who wants to make a difference should consider seriously approaching the issue of health holistically. It isn’t just race or class but the quality of schools, crime rates and other myriad factors working together in concert to allow these disparities to manifest themselves in childhood obesity rates. As proposed in NCRP’s report for health funders, there is a potential for greater impact when funders use targeted means within universal programs. The benefits accrue not only to the identified population but to all society and also to the foundation.
Join us on January 24, 2012 for a webinar on our report, featuring author Terri Langston, Dr. Robert Ross, CEO of the California Endowment and Sara Kay, Director of Health Programs at the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Niki Jagpal is director of research and policy at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
Labels: health, health philanthropy, High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy, Los Angeles, systems reform, targeted universalism
A December 28, 2011 L.A. Times article titled “A vast child obesity gap between affluent city, lower-income one,” includes some sobering statistics on child obesity rates. Overall obesity among the young is starting to decline in California and across the country. Yet, the article notes that only 4 percent of children residing in the predominantly white and rich Manhattan Beach are obese while Bell Gardens has a rate of 36 percent, higher than any city in the county. The latter city is predominantly Latino and poor. In addition to the lack of availability of healthful food in Bell Gardens, cultural factors are at play here as well. The article states that there is a misperception among some Latino families that larger children are in fact healthier.
Some additional statistics help understand the level of disparity between the two cities. As noted in the article, Manhattan Beach comprises some 36,000 residents and median household income is $127,000. The city is 80 percent white, only 3 percent of the population lives in poverty and violent crime rates are low. In contrast, in Bell Gardens, median household income is less than one-third that of Manhattan Beach’s, the population is primarily Latino at 96 percent of 44,000, just 4 percent of adults over the age of 25 have a college degree compared to 75 percent in Manhattan Beach and violent crimes are far more prevalent.
“Researchers have drawn strong links between obesity and such socioeconomic disparities. Families in low-income areas are less aware of the harm that beverages and foods sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup can cause, said Dr. James Marks of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. And schools in low-income areas generally have fewer physical education programs and may offer less healthful options in school cafeteria lunches, he said.”
The stark differences between Manhattan Beach and Bell Gardens demonstrate why any health philanthropist who wants to make a difference should consider seriously approaching the issue of health holistically. It isn’t just race or class but the quality of schools, crime rates and other myriad factors working together in concert to allow these disparities to manifest themselves in childhood obesity rates. As proposed in NCRP’s report for health funders, there is a potential for greater impact when funders use targeted means within universal programs. The benefits accrue not only to the identified population but to all society and also to the foundation.
Join us on January 24, 2012 for a webinar on our report, featuring author Terri Langston, Dr. Robert Ross, CEO of the California Endowment and Sara Kay, Director of Health Programs at the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Niki Jagpal is director of research and policy at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
Labels: health, health philanthropy, High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy, Los Angeles, systems reform, targeted universalism
posted by National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy at
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