Greaux Healthy Initiative targets Louisiana’s childhood obesity crisis

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — As childhood obesity rates continue to rise across Louisiana, one initiative is hitting the road to address the crisis head-on.

At the Press Club of Baton Rouge, Melissa Martin, director of Greaux Healthy, spoke about the urgent need to combat childhood obesity, an issue impacting nearly one in four children in the state.

“Childhood obesity is a public health crisis in America,” Martin said. “Louisiana ranks third in the nation for childhood obesity. Twenty-three percent of children in our state are living with obesity.”

Greaux Healthy is a new initiative led by Pennington Biomedical Research Center in partnership with LSU and the State of Louisiana. Its mission is to prevent and treat childhood obesity by providing evidence-based tools, resources, and community outreach across all corners of the state.

“One of the things that makes this initiative so important is that we are providing evidence-based tools and resources across our state,” Martin said.

A key component of the initiative is the Greaux Healthy Road Sheaux, a mobile outreach program that will visit all nine regions of Louisiana in 2025. The Road Sheaux offers education on nutrition, access to healthy food, physical activity, and the importance of early prevention.

“Coming together from different sectors, we all have a role in helping to prevent and treat childhood obesity,” Martin added.

With support from state leaders, schools, health professionals, and community groups, Greaux Healthy is working to ensure a healthier future for Louisiana’s children.

Click here to request a stop from the Greaux Healthy Road Sheaux in your community.

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