Understanding neighborhood contexts of the obesity and diabetes epidemic in the Los Angeles Area

Application of a neighborhoods perspective, in our efforts to address health disparities related to obesity and diabetes, compounds a complex set of challenges. Low SES neighborhoods have limited access recreation space, bear an unjust share of hazardous environmental exposures, and food access conspicuously lop-sided. Neighborhood opportunities for physical activity and food access are couched in a socio- polictical- and economic- system that concentrates the burden of this injustice on minority populations. These complex dynamics have coalesced into the simultaneous public health challenges of obesity and diabetes, borne disproportionately by the working class and by people of color. For this presentation, I will outline some aspects of the social and political context for understanding Latino/a health in the Los Angeles area, including relevant historical dimensions. I will also describe the methods of a new study that applies an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how local food environments and ultimately become embodied in the health and wellness of Hispanic youth in the L.A. area. This secondary data analysis will add geocoded data participant data from the USC Childhood Obesity Research Center (CORC) and layer them onto an existing built environments database for analysis. Results will produce a portrait of how residents imbibe the risks and benefits associated with differences in food access and opportunities for physical activity of their respective neighborhoods. Significant results could be powerful evidence for a more active public health role in creating and maintaining a healthy and just food system, and for neighborhoods that promote active living.