Pennington Biomedical Research Center is formally launching Greaux Healthy, a government initiative designed to help improve the health of children at every age. Developed with funding from the State of Louisiana, Greaux Healthy implements 35 years of biomedical research and discoveries from Pennington to develop tools, resources and programs for children, parents, physicians and educators across the state.
The Greaux Healthy initiative develops a wide range of educational materials clearly tailored to four priority target groups, including expectant families and parents of infants, preschool children, school-age children and adolescents and young adults. In its first year, Greaux Healthy is working with fourth-grade classrooms in Caddo and East Baton Rouge parishes, offering classroom lessons and educational materials on addressing childhood obesity, with more parishes and school systems to follow.
Greaux Healthy strives to be the most trusted partner in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Every product, tool and resource we offer is developed based on research conducted at Pennington Biomedical over the past 35 years. Our evidence-based tools are designed to help Louisiana families navigate the unique path for their own health or the health of children in their lives.”
Melissa Martin, Greaux’s healthy nutrition director
The percentage of Louisiana youth who are obese is nearly 22 percent, five percentage points higher than the national average. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month in the United States, and the launch of Greaux Healthy in Louisiana shows that Pennington Biomedical and the state of Louisiana are identifying the childhood obesity epidemic as a major problem among residents to see. .
“The Greaux Healthy initiative is an expression of Pennington Biomedical’s mission of ‘cells to society’ as every part of the initiative is based on more than thirty years of research conducted by our world-renowned researchers,” said Dr. John Kirwan, executive director of Pennington Biomedical. “With the goal of addressing the childhood obesity crisis across the country, Greaux Healthy equips expectant parents, families, educators, healthcare professionals and community leaders with tools that can be tailored to their specific needs.”
In schools, the recommended implementation of the Greaux Health program includes school-wide promotion of healthy behaviour, PE lessons with immediate activities and take-home newsletters, and classroom lessons with associated activity books. Greaux Healthy will expand implementation of the program to 5th grade classes in the 2024-25 school year, with the goal of eventually providing teaching materials for 4th through 8th grades.
“We have spent years building a library of evidence-based prevention and treatment of childhood obesity, and Greaux Healthy is an important initiative to bring our findings into practice for the broader public,” said Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, principal investigator and chief science officer. Officer for Greaux Healthy and Director of Population and Public Health at Pennington Biomedical. “Health and nutrition in the early stages, including in the embryonic phase, appear to be important factors for health later in life. We target these materials to children, their teachers and caregivers, and expectant mothers, to see these children grow into healthy children. and active adults.”
To reach Louisiana families beyond the school setting, Greaux Healthy is taking a bus tour to select areas of the state to showcase the research component of the initiative. The Pennington Generation Cohort study will work with Louisiana families to learn more about how physical activity, diet, sleep habits and other factors influence children’s health and development. Study participants will complete health surveys once a year, undergo free health screenings and learn more about their individual health profile
Greaux Healthy is informed primarily by Pennington Biomedical obesity research and overseen by an international scientific advisory board, with researchers representing Tufts University, Weight Watchers, Duke University School of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Columbia University, Temple University College of Public Health and the Medical center of the University of Rochester. The Greaux Healthy initiative was made possible through funding and collaboration with the State of Louisiana.