Diet and nutrition related diseases, including obesity and diabetes, disproportionately affect people of color. Obesity rates, in particular, are not only higher among African Americans and Latinos than among whites but also are rising faster too, and this in turn has led to higher rates of premature death due to heart disease. Poor diet and inadequate physical activity are two chief causes of this problem. While healthier lifestyle choices at the individual level can make a big difference, such choices are heavily guided—and sometimes blocked—by the social and economic environments in which people live. This issue brief discusses a multi-level approach to improving diet and activity, one that considers for example how schools and stores affect diet and how zoning and public safety affect exercise. It describes a variety of successful community-level and legislative actions that can serve as models, and makes broad recommendations for further policy and action.
Co-published with the Joint Center Health Policy Institute.
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