Two out of every five adults in Louisiana are considered obese, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, Nadine Gracia said the adult obesity rate in the Bayou State is 38.6% and to address the crisis we have to look at system base solutions.
“That are going to really ensure that everyone has access to healthy, affordable, and nutritious foods and the ability to engage in safe physical activity,” said Gracia.
Louisiana is among 19 states in the country with an adult obesity rate over 35% and it was only a decade ago no states had rates over 35%. Louisiana ranked 7th in the nation for adult obesity.
Gracia said it’s not only adults with obesity concerns, 22.2% of children in Louisiana are considered obese. She said obesity is a complex issue and has several contributing factors for example genetics, societal issues, and economics.
“Poverty is actually a strong predictor of obesity, and food insecurity as well. Food insecurity and obesity actually have many of the same risk factors and poverty is a significant driver for both,” said Gracia.
During the pandemic food insecurity only increased and many individuals used food as a coping mechanism which also led to an increase in obesity rates. Gracia said to address the issue states need to implement fact-based obesity prevention programs that not only improve one’s quality of life but can also reduce health costs.
“Obesity in a recent study accounted for about $170-billion in higher medical costs annually in the United States but yet we have obesity prevention programs,” said Gracia.
To reduce childhood obesity rates, Gracia said the “Making Healthy School Meals for All Students” should become a permanent policy. Since the pandemic, the federal policy was not renewed.
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