Dr. Alma Guerrero, assistant professor of pediatrics at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to research racial and ethnic disparities in dietary behaviors that lead to obesity among California children. She will also examine the family and neighborhood factors associated with these dietary behaviors.
“As the daughter of Mexican immigrant working-class parents, I have always had an interest in working with vulnerable populations,” said Guerrero. “During medical school, I was influenced by the growing problem of obesity among very young Latino children receiving care in our clinic. It became clear that there are significant racial and ethnic disparities in childhood obesity and that many complex factors contribute to it. This project will define a better understanding of the cultural, family and community factors shaping dietary behaviors in childhood obesity and hopefully lead to improvements for communities that have disproportionately high rates of obesity.”
Guerrero is among a select group of junior investigators to receive the two-year grant through the foundation's New Connections program.
