Socioeconomic Inequality and Lifestyle Mediation in Obesity: Evidence from Adults in Los Angeles, 2019–2023

Abstract

The rates of overweight and obesity in the past few decades have increased throughout the world, subjecting increasingly larger populations to high cholesterol, blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. Some populations have a higher level of burden than others. This essay is interested in how socioeconomic status (SES) and daily lifestyle choices might work together as BMI variation determinants in different populations in the Los Angeles area. With data from large health surveys, the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), this study will take adults aged 18-65 in Los Angeles as its research target and consider their BMI, occupation, smoking/drinking habits, social status, income, and level of education. This study examined Los Angeles adult data and determined a strong SES–obesity gradient. Among lifestyle variables, frequency of fast-food intake had the closest to a clear dose–response. Binge drinking, current smoking status, and heavy device use had modest contrasts. Altogether, the results are compatible with partial mediation, whereby structural disadvantage augments convenience-ingredient dependence on convenience-dense foods that are energydense to illuminate SES gaps in corpulence. These results suggest combined remedies: structural policies that enhance economic and food environments along with behavioral assists that lessen fast-food-based dependence, particularly among lower-SES communities.