Community Input – Overweight and Obesity Stakeholder interviews identified the following issues, challenges and barriers related to overweight and obesity. Following are their comments edited for clarity: • There are neighborhoods that have little green space for people to play and exercise or where residents don’t feel safe active-commuting from home to school or work. Within these areas, there are higher rates of overweight, obesity, and diabetes. • Provide health education for local businesses on effects of overconsumption of sugary beverages. Making alternatives available won’t harm business and will contribute to larger community health efforts. • Overweight and obesity seen affecting lower-income people who do not get screened often and don’t see their doctor often, which manifests into other diseases like diabetes, • Limited access to grocery stores selling fresh produce presents a barrier to preventing diabetes and other forms of metabolic syndrome. As an example, there was a client for whom the closest grocery store was miles away and required multiple bus rides over the course of a day. “They’re not choosing to have diabetes.” • Healthier food options tend to be more expensive or are perceived as requiring more time in the kitchen to prepare. • Grocery stores and markets selling healthy foods are not easily within reach for those that need it the most; a lack of transportation is a huge barrier. • There is a lack of resources for providing healthy, nutritional meals. Those who lack basic necessities may be worried about having a safe place to sleep at night or how long it will be until their next meal. As a result, they do not have the mental capacity and energy to learn about a healthy diet, and nutrition may not be a priority. • Hispanics/Latinos experience disproportionate rates of childhood obesity. • Some resources or organizations have good intentions and provide low-income communities with meals; however, these meals are not always healthy or do not provide nutritional value. Most of the children receiving this food receive it on a daily basis, so harm is being done to their health. The community lacks a system to monitor these organizations who, while having good intentions, would benefit from some professional supervision.
UCI MEDICAL CENTER 2022 COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT
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