Wallets may be feeling thinner lately, but what should be more worrying is that Santa Maria residents are getting wider. People hit hardest by the economy are having to loosen their belts instead of tightening them, setting the stage for a health crisis that could have much longer lasting effects than any economic one.
According to a study from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, 53 percent of all adults in Santa Barbara County were overweight or obese in 2007. Of those, 68.9 percent were Latino, compared to 46.2 percent of Caucasians.
The reason for the higher levels of obesity, the same report noted, was lower income levels among Latinos that resulted in their having less access to healthier, more expensive foods.
That’s where Fidel Villanueva comes in. A health educator with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, Villanueva had been studying the problem as part of the Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Prevention (CX3) project.
Villanueva and the project looked at two neighborhoods in Santa Maria: the Bunny area in the northwest and the Newlove neighborhood. They were selected, he said, based on census and other data due to their high levels
of poverty.
“We were looking at what types of foods are available in these communities: the type of stores, what kind of foods that they had in those stores,” he explained. “We found out there’s a lot of liquor stores, convenience stores where they have a lot of junk food. Very few of them had healthy, nutritious foods available to the community.”
One of the factors the CX3 project examined was overall quality of neighborhood food stores. The project asked, “What percent of local stores offer healthy, affordable foods? Are those stores easily and safely accessible to neighborhood residents?”
In the Newlove area, only one out of nine stores met the criteria. In the Northwest Bunny area, it was one out of 10. Keep in mind, those numbers only include small markets, convenience stores, and supermarkets. If fast food restaurants are added to the mix, then the numbers are even worse: one in 19 for Bunny, and one in 20 for Newlove.
And it’s not just food that the CX3 project looked at either, Villanueva said. Safety and the “walkability” of a neighborhood can also contribute to obesity. Something as simple as a broken sidewalk or the lack of a crosswalk can keep people from getting out and about.
Villanueva said members of the community had asked him about a crosswalk at Battles and Newlove, noting it was a particularly dangerous intersection for pedestrians. He hopes to get the city engineer to install a crosswalk there.
In all of this, Villanueva sees himself as a facilitator—he hopes to create leaders in the Hispanic community who will act as their own advocates. Part of his plan to do so includes a workshop scheduled for Jan. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Atkins Community Center.
The workshop, which will be held in Spanish, has a simple goal: Gather members of the communities identified in the CX3 project and ask them a simple question.
“We’re asking them, ‘What do you want to do?’” said Sandy Underwood, a community educator with Marian Medical Center who teaches a four-week class focusing on nutrition. While anyone is welcome to attend, she focuses mainly on Spanish speakers and has worked with Villanueva to address obesity among Santa Maria’s Hispanics.
“We’re trying to engage the Hispanic community to advocate for themselves for fresh fruits and vegetables in their local markets and encourage changes to their eating habits,” Underwood said.
She added that, for several years, addressing obesity has been a part of Marian Medical Center’s Community Health Education strategy plan, and while there have been hiccups in the past in getting things rolling, she’s “very excited” about the upcoming workshop at the Atkins center.
Empowering the local Hispanic community is just one step in the fight against obesity, said Dr. Scott McCann, director of health education with Santa Barbara County.
After education comes longer-term goals that may require a changing of attitudes, McCann noted. Looking five or 10 years out, health needs to start being a consideration when zoning or planning new construction, he said. He held up planned communities where conveniences are within walking distance as an example.
“Suburbs are just the opposite,” he said. “In big cities, you either walk or take the subway; exercise is built into your routine.”
One of the solutions he sees is higher-density housing, but he admits not everyone is thrilled with the idea.
“It’s controversial, but it’s a trade off,” he said. “If things are close enough to walk or bike to, people are going to do it.” m
Contact Staff Writer Nicholas Walter at nwalter@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 21-28, 2010.