Obesity has become a prevalent issue of American society, and one University class wants to educate the community about health awareness.
“They have mixed-up information,” said Elise Torres, nutritional dietetics senior.
Georgianna Tuuri, human ecology assistant professor, is working to change that.
She asked her public health nutrition class to participate in a walk-a-thon hosted by Moe Pointer, food service director and culinary instructor at the Carville Job Corp Academy.
Participants walked two miles from New Jerusalem Baptist Church to the Mount Bethel Baptist Church on Sunday.
Tuuri said she wanted the walk-a-thon to promote physical activities and curb unhealthy weight.
Tuuri said she decided to get her students involved in the walk-a-thon because it would give them an opportunity to practice their public nutrition skills.
The class was split into five groups – planning, management, nutrition education information, marketing and evaluation – to help educate the community.
“We want to get the community involved with our students,” Pointer said. People with obesity have high risks of getting health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Desiree Dupuy, nutritional dietetics senior, said she thinks people do not know much about nutrition and physical activities.
“People just don’t understand how their body affects them,” Dupuy said. “It’s a combination of apathy and ignorance – either they don’t care or don’t know.”
Dupuy said people do not understand that exercise can help.
Caroline Chatelain, kinesiology and fitness studies senior, said she thinks exercise is fun and wants to spread it to everyone.
“We don’t think about the nutritional aspects of [our bodies],” said Caitlyn Haines, nutritional science junior.
Pointer wanted the event to encourage people to exercise and maintain a healthy diet. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey said obesity has increased among adolescents.
Between 1966 and 1970, 4.6 percent of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 were considered obese. In 2003-2004, the number of obese teenagers increased to 17.4 percent.
“When you’re younger, you’re not thinking about the future and the chronic diseases you can have,” Chatelain said.
—-Contact J.J. Alcantara at [email protected]