Obesity, diabetes epidemics continue to grow in California
Greater than 50% of the adults in California are obese or overweight. More than 25% of California adolescents — some 970,000 children — are obese or overweight.
A majority of adults in California are obese or overweight, and more than 2 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Both conditions — which are related to each other as well as to heart disease — increased significantly in just six years, with the prevalence of diabetes alone jumping nearly 26 percent between 2001 and 2007.
The “epidemic” of obesity and diabetes leaves no racial, ethnic, economic or geographic segment of the state unscathed, according to the researchers. [See maps of obesity and diabetes prevalence in California.]
Although American Indians, African Americans and Latinos are particularly affected by both obesity and diabetes, these conditions increased among all racial and ethnic groups between 2001 and 2007. Similarly, while both conditions disproportionately affect the poorest Californians, there were upward trends in prevalence among all income groups during the same time period.
California’s youth are also affected: More than a quarter of California adolescents — some 970,000 children — are obese or overweight.
