New research reveals California teens from low-income families are nearly three times more likely to be obese than their peers from richer households. The U-C-L-A Center for Health Policy Research says there are number of reasons why. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.
The U-C-L-A study says low-income teens tend to watch more television and drink more sodas than their richer counterparts.
There are also a higher number of fast-food restaurants in poor neighborhoods, and fewer opportunities for organized sports.
U-C-L-A researcher Susan Babey (BAB-ee) wrote the study.
Susan Babey : Part of the problem may be that these higher risk groups like low-income teens have more barriers to actually being able to eat healthy diets and get a lot of physical activity.
An estimated 30-thousand teens in San Diego are obese. That's about one out of ten teenagers in the region.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
