As a result, we see obesity as a leading health problem plaguing Latinos in Huntington Park. The cause of obesity can be traced to an individual’s environment, high intake of foods full of sugar and calories with minimal physical activity. Obesity can lead to much more than a larger waist. Health problems include diabetes, stroke, kidney failure, heart problems, and even death. Sixty million Americans ages 20 and older are obese (Get America Fit Foundation). Obesity has become the second preventable cause of death in the United States, next to the use of tobacco (Overweight and Obesity among Children by California Cities). Obesity affects everyone but has higher rates amongst the minority populations of African Americans (49.5%) and Hispanics (40.4%) (Centers for Disease Control and …show more content…
According to the report, 60.7% of the population has less than a high school education compared to the state average of 18.5% (Lewis and Burd-Sharps). Also, school enrollment is 73.6% compared to the state average of 78.5%. Only 4.4% of Huntington Park residents have a Bachelor’s Degree compared to the state average of 30.9% (Lewis and Burd-Sharps, 34). The Bay Area has the highest levels of educational attainment in the state. Meanwhile, cities like Huntington Park, have educational levels that mirror the country’s overall educational measure in 1960 (Lewis and Burd-Sharps, 97). Latinos have the lowest academic attainment score and is reflected in high school completion rates. Lewis and Burd-Sharps classify Latino adults born in the United States with an Education Index score of 4.20, and Latino adults immigrants have a minuscule score of 0.12 (Lewis and Burd-Sharps, 100). The drastic low score amongst Foreign-born Latinos who arrived in the United States can be the result of inadequate schooling they acquired in their homelands. Latinos and African Americans in California are disproportionately poor who have less access to resources for bettering their socioeconomic status. The 2010-2014 ACS reports that 30.3% of individuals live below the poverty level in Huntington Park, compared to 18.4% in Los Angeles County, and 16.4% in