Online Program

WITHDRAWN: Improving Obesity Policies in Louisiana: An Analysis of Louisiana's Childhood Obesity Prevention Practices and Policies

Vanessa Louis Greenslade, Dillard University 

Keywords: PLS analysis, GIS mapping, childhood obesity, policy, Louisiana

Childhood obesity is a major problem in the state of Louisiana. Louisiana’s childhood obesity rates have consistently trended upward since 2008 and currently rank as the fifth-highest in the country. In an effort to examine Louisiana’s childhood obesity policies and determine the types of policies Louisiana should enact, analyses on its current policies and the socioeconomic factors affecting Louisiana’s childhood obesity problem were conducted. Results from these analyses indicate Louisiana should focus on enacting policies that would allow more physical activities in schools, implement BMI testing in schools, create a more effective purchasing system for SNAP recipients, create better built environments for citizens by building more superstores and farmer’s markets, and implement programs that educate poor minorities about obesity and nutrition. Other states have successfully enacted policies and implemented programs similar to the ones needed in Louisiana. Furthermore, policy and program recommendations are provided to address Louisiana’s childhood obesity problem.