Pennington Biomedical launches Greaux Healthy to combat childhood obesity

Pennington Biomedical Research Center is formally launching Greaux Healthy, a public service initiative designed to help improve kids' health at every age. Developed with funding from the State of Louisiana, Greaux Healthy implements 35 years of Pennington Biomedical research and discoveries to inform tools, resources and programing for children, parents, physicians and educators throughout the state.

The Greaux Healthy initiative is developing a wide variety of educational materials distinctly tailored to four priority populations, including expectant families and parents of infants, preschool age children, school age children, and adolescents and young adults. In its inaugural year, Greaux Healthy is partnering with 4th grade classrooms in Caddo and East Baton Rouge parishes, providing classroom lessons and educational materials addressing childhood obesity, with more parishes and school systems to come.

Greaux Healthy is committed to being the most trusted partner in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Every product, resource, and tool we offer has been developed from research conducted at Pennington Biomedical over the past 35 years. Our evidence-based resources 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 Healthy Director

The rate of Louisiana youth with obesity is nearly 22 percent, five percentage points higher than the national average. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month in the United States, and the launch of Greaux Healthy in Louisiana demonstrates that Pennington Biomedical and the State of Louisiana see the epidemic of childhood obesity as a major issue among residents. 

"The Greaux Healthy initiative is an articulation of Pennington Biomedical's mission of 'cells to society' as each component of the initiative is grounded in more than three decades 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 nation, Greaux Healthy equips expectant parents, families, educators, healthcare professionals and community leaders with tools that can be tailored to their specific need." 

In schools, the recommended implementation of the Greaux Health program includes a school-wide promotion of healthy behaviors, PE lessons with instant activities and take-home newsletters, and classroom lessons with corresponding activity books. Greaux Healthy will expand its program implementation to 5th grade classes in the 2024-25 school year, with the goal of ultimately providing classroom resources from 4th through 8th grades.

"For years we have been building a library of evidence-based prevention and treatment for childhood obesity, and Greaux Healthy is a major initiative to put our findings into action for the broader public," said Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, Principal Investigator and Chief Science Officer for Greaux Healthy, and Director of Pennington Biomedical's Population and Public Health Division. "Health and nutrition at early stages, including in the embryonic stage, are shown to be major factors in health later in life. We aim these materials at children, their teachers and caregivers, and expectant mothers in order to see these children grow into healthy and active adults."

To reach Louisiana families outside of the school setting, Greaux Healthy is taking a bus tour to select areas of the state to showcase the initiative's research component. The Pennington Generation Cohort study will partner with Louisiana families to learn more about how physical activity, nutrition, sleep habits and other factors affect children's health and development. Participants in the study will answer health surveys once a year, receive health screenings at no cost, and learn more about their individual health profile 

Primarily informed by Pennington Biomedical obesity research, Greaux Healthy is 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 University of Rochester Medical Center. The Greaux Healthy initiative was made possible through funding and partnership with the State of Louisiana.