Many of California’s Building Healthy Communities Residents Face Barriers to Healthy Eating

This fact sheet uses data from a special oversample of the California Health Interview Survey to examine consumption trends of sugar-sweetened beverages in the 14 micro-communities selected by The California Endowment as part of a 10-year initiative to improve the health of these locations. The authors find that in these historically disadvantaged communities, more than half of the children and young adults living in Building Healthy Communities (BHC) sites drink sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) at least once per day, and over one-third consume fast food at least twice per week. Many residents of BHC communities live in food environments with an abundance of food outlets that sell primarily unhealthy foods relative to outlets with numerous healthier options.

• Susan H. Babey, PhD
• Joelle Wolstein, PhD, MPP, MA
• Samuel Krumholz
• Allison L. Diamant, MD, MSHS