Child Obesity Rates 32.4 Percent in San Rafael

Approximately one in three children living in San Rafael in 2010 were considered obese, according to a new study released earlier this week.

The study, conducted by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, analyzed over 250 cities. The statistics showed discrepancies in many cities based on the location’s wealth.

San Rafael and Novato were the only cities in Marin County studied. San Rafael’s child obesity rate was 32.4 percent and Novato’s was 31.7 percent. Those figures stand in slight contrast to Marin County's overall childhood obesity rate of 24.9 percent, according to a November 2011 study from the same group.

California’s overall rate was 38 percent, however the study found some cities were as low as 11 percent, like in Manhattan Beach, and others climbed up to 53 percent, like Huntington Park.

The data was compiled using the California Department of Education’s 2010 physical fitness tests for fifth, seventh and ninth grade school children. Rates were reported for incorporated cities with populations of at least 20,000 and with fitness tests reporting of at least 70 percent.

See the full database of cities here.