Preliminary Analysis from a Participatory Health Needs Assessment on the Accessibility to Green Space and Its Potential Effects on Child Obesity in Watts, California

Abstract

The child obesity rate is greater in low-income communities of color in South Los Angeles than in White, affluent communities in West Los Angeles, California. In June 2018, the Harbor-UCLA Summer Urban Health Fellowship conducted a health needs assessment within households in Watts, California, a neighborhood in South Los Angeles. This study focuses on access to green space, safety, and fast food consumption as factors that may be associated with disproportionate local child obesity rates. Preliminary data suggests that community-perceived safety, poverty, and fast food consumption could be risk factors. Our findings provide opportunities for local policy development centered on targeting risk factors in Watts.