article_snippet: In 2008, a dietary ordinance targeted a 32-square-mile area south of Interstate 10 that struggles with high obesity rates and other health problems.
article_snippet: Obesity rates in South Los Angeles grew by 12 per cent despite a much-hailed three-year ban on stand-alone fast-food restaurants, a new study has found .
article_snippet: Findings showed that before the ordinance went into effect in 2008, 63 per cent of residents in the area reported being overweight or obese compared to 57 per cent in other parts of the county.
article_snippet: But three years on, instead of the law curbing weight gain, the opposite trend took force as obesity rates grew by 12 per cent in South Los Angeles. '
article_snippet: In 2011, 75 per cent of South Los Angeles residents reported being overweight or obese, while rates elsewhere only increased by one per cent.
article_snippet: Unfortunately, the rates of overweight and obesity increased and overweight and obesity increased fastest in the area subject to the fast-food ban.'
article_snippet: Before the dietary ordinance went into effect in 2008, 63 per cent of residents in the area reported being overweight or obese compared to 57 per cent in other parts of the county .
article_snippet: Researchers compared obesity rates in South Los Angeles and other parts of the county using surveys that asked residents to report residents weight and eating habits.