Statewide public health campaign urges Louisianians to eat right and move more
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center today announced the launch of the Louisiana 2 Step, a statewide public health campaign using advertising and public relations messages to encourage Louisiana residents to take two small daily steps toward better health.
The state’s largest health insurer and the Baton Rouge-based, world-class research center have joined forces to fight obesity, one of the leading causes of preventable illness in our state. Both companies have strong stakes in this battle: Blue Cross insures one out of every four Louisianians, while the Pennington Center’s research programs focus on nutrition and health-related areas including Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, and Health and Performance Enhancement.
“Both Blue Cross and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center have an enormous amount of data on the devastating health effects of obesity and physical inactivity,” said Gery J. Barry, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. “It’s part of our mission as a health care company to help educate and motivate Louisianians to address these problems and improve their health long-term.”
The Louisiana 2 Step campaign urges participants to take just two daily steps toward better health: eat right and move more. Television and radio advertisements, print ads, outdoor billboards and a website at http://www.louisiana2step.com/ encourage every citizen to “Do the 2” in his or her own way. “The ads use an understated, humorous approach to get the message across,” Barry said. “The idea is that each of us can make small but crucial daily choices to eat a little better and get a little more exercise.”
The burden of obesity hits our state hard:
- Louisiana ranks 4th in adult obesity in the nation.
- Being overweight and/or obese substantially increases the risk of hypertension, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and various cancers.
