Los Angeles, 4 Apr (EFE).-the unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise are the major factors that put at risk the health of children, according to the results of a survey of voters in California presented today.
Annual research “Survey on prevention of the obesity child”, performed by The Field Poll, found a significant increase in the identification of these two risks compared with a similar survey in 2003.
“Nearly half (48%) of California voters considered unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical activity are the two biggest risks facing today children of California, exceeding the 35% who said the same in 2003”, highlighted the report by Mark DiCamillo and Mervin Field.
Survey on factors, found that more than 7 of every 10 Hispanic (74%) think that the neighborhood where it grows a child greatly influences when it comes to keeping them healthy, a higher percentage than the of the African-Americans (69%), Asians (65%) and the White non-Hispanic (55%).
83% Of Hispanics believed that the community should actively participate in the search for solutions to the problem of childhood obesity, the highest percentage in comparison to Asians (80%), African Americans (74%) and the White non-Hispanic (69%).
According to the majority of the respondents, the groups that should be more involved in the prevention of obesity are companies that provide health services (94%) and schools (91%).
Civic organizations such as chambers of Commerce and associations of parents must also have an important role according to 83% of replies.
The report outlined some sources of funding to assist the Government in the prevention of obesity program. Almost six out of 10 people are please to authorize local governments to impose taxes on products such as alcohol, cigarettes, and “junk food”, as well as a special for gasified drinks levy.
The survey interviewed by telephone 1,000 registered voters of California both English and Spanish, between 15 and 27 November 2011 and presented a margin of error of +/-3.1%.
El 91 per cent of respondents believed that schools should be involved in the prevention of obesity. EFE/file
