Almost 50% of Baldwin Park Kids Are Overweight, Study Finds

Almost half of children in Baldwin Park are overweight or obese, a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy has found.

The average rate of overweight and obese children is 41.6 percent in Los Angeles County, but the range between cities is dramatic. In Baldwin Park, 46.7 percent of children are overweight or obese compared to over half in Huntington Park (53 percent) and 11.3 percent in Manhattan Beach.

The study, released last week, was based off the California Department of Education’s 2010 Physical Fitness Tests. The UCLA researchers examined the reports from 5th, 7th and 9th grade students from schools in more than 250 Californian cities.

The study also found that although the prevalence of obesity is high among all children regardless of race/ethnicity, children of color are disproportionately affected.

Hispanic, African American, and American Indian girls and boys have higher rates of obesity than white children.

Surrounding cities like Covina have a 40.6% of children overweight; El Monte,  52.6%; La Puente, 42.4% and West Covina, 41%, according to the report.

Read the complete report attached to this story in PDF Format.

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