Physical Health

Health Priority: Physical Health

The Beach Cities continue to have lower rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension, and increased frequency of exercise and vegetable consumption. Maintaining good physical health helps decrease the risk of developing many chronic health conditions and includes lifestyle aspects including fitness, nutrition and sleep. As a result, many of the health objectives under this health priority focus on maintaining high levels of healthy behavior related to nutrition and exercise:  

Adult and Childhood Obesity: The Beach Cities have lower rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension than the County. Historically, there have been significant improvements in obesity among students in Redondo Beach Unified School District. The obesity rate was 20% in 2007 and has since dropped to 5%, the lowest it has been since measurement began.

Physical Activity: 41% of Beach Cities adults meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity compared to 36% in the County.  
Chronic Disease: Rates of diabetes and hypertension in the Beach Cities are lower than the County. While high cholesterol is lower than the national average, it has increased 15% in the Beach Cities since 2010.

Cognitive Health: The Alzheimer’s disease-specific death rate in the Beach Cities (42.4 per 100,000) exceeds that of the County (33.7 per 100,000).

Sleep: In the County, 34% of adults report getting insufficient sleep and 13% of Beach Cities 11th graders report missing school in the past month due to not getting enough sleep.

Health Objectives:

Promote habits and practices to increase restful and restorative sleep
Improve health and quality of life for people with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, and their caregivers
Maintain healthy eating habits and low percentage of residents who are obese or overweight
Improve biking and walking safety
Maintain high levels of physical exercise participation