Louisiana's 2012 Report Card On Physical Activity & Health For Children & Youth Released

BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Louisiana's "built environment" is found to be one of the most influential factors impacting the health of children and youth in the state, according to the results of Pennington Biomedical Research Center's 2012 Louisiana Report Card on Physical Activity & Health for Children & Youth. Released Oct. 24, the 2012 Report Card reveals that the overall heath grade for children and youth in Louisiana is a "D," a grade that has been consistent since the inception of the report card in 2008. The grade includes indicators including physical activity, screen time, sports participation, overweight and obesity rates, aerobic fitness, overall physical and emotional well-being, fruit and vegetable consumption, tobacco use, physical activity programming at school, training of school personnel in physical activity, and built environment and community design.

Now in its fifth year, the report card provides an authoritative, evidence-based assessment of the status of several health indicators for Louisiana's children using the most recent data available. The 2012 report card adds an additional focus on the "built environment" and how it impacts the health and activity of the youth in Louisiana. The "built environment" refers to human-made features of the community built to facilitate daily life, including streets, shops, restaurants, and parks. In addition to providing an assessment of the behaviors of Louisiana's children and youth, this year's report card includes data from a Physical Activity and Nutrition Guidelines Knowledge Survey, which includes information from approximately 750 parents from around the state of Louisiana.

Further indicating our need for improvement, the report card notes that according to the National Survey of Children's Health, Louisiana ranks worse than the national average in the four categories that the organization uses to assess a neighborhood's propensity for encouraging good health. The study finds that with a lack of access to parks, playgrounds, sidewalks and fresh food options, the mental and physical wellness of children is affected.

This report is a resource for health statistics on children and youth in Louisiana. However, it is most importantly an advocacy tool providing a level of accountability and call-to-action for adult decision makers to implement new initiatives, programs and policies in support of health environments to improve the physical activity levels and health of our children. To download a complete copy of the 2012 Report Card, visit www.pbrc.edu or www.louisianareportcard.org.  

About the Pennington Biomedical Research Center

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the causes of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of the Louisiana State University System and conducts basic, clinical and population research. Pennington Biomedical's more than 500 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 234-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more information, see www.pbrc.edu.

Contact:
Molly Malloy
Public Relations Account Executive
Wright Feigley Communications
(225) 769-4844 (o)  

SOURCE Pennington Biomedical Research Center