Congratulations, residents: Louisiana has moved up from being the 49th healthiest state in the U.S. to 47th.
 
Shall we celebrate?
 
Probably not. We are still getting larger.
 
The average American male in 2009 weighs 17.1 pounds more than the average male back in 1988, and the average female weighs 15.4 pounds more.
 
Did any of you go to the beach during Labor Day weekend?
 
I did, and I saw plenty of beached whales.
 
Walking around these days can be depressing. Obese Louisianians are riding motorized carts everywhere you go. No longer are we hunting for food — we’re grabbing it off Walmart shelves while sitting and throwing it into our baskets.
 
According to Americashealthrankings.org, the prevalence of obesity in Louisiana is expected to increase from its current level of 33.9 percent to 42.7 percent in 2018.
 
It seems the adage “the freshman 15” is going to get higher.
 
And what’s this going to cost us?
 
We currently spend $1.18 billion on health care related to obesity. In 2018, this cost is estimated to rise to $4.49 billion if we continue this trend of overeating and living unhealthy lifestyles.
 
What’s the solution?
 
Some suggest more government programs such as America on the Move or Let’s Move.
 
But in reality, the government spends way too much money on curative health care and not nearly enough trying to prevent the problem.
I propose incorporating nutrition courses and cooking classes in schools, starting in adolescence and continuing on into the college level.
 
Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to food. Required courses explaining how to read nutrition labels, a guide to fast food eating and courses on how to balance calorie intake with exercise would solve a lot of problems facing our portly state and possibly eliminate that dreaded “freshman 15.”
 
Knowing how to nourish yourself and prevent chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes is just as important as basic math, English and social studies.
 
Physical education classes could use a major revamp. Kids should be learning more about why it’s important to get daily exercise and how to incorporate more throughout a day.
 
Parents rarely ask their kids, “How are you doing in P.E.?” The classes are usually taught by football coaches who simply take roll and then allow the students to socialize or walk around the gym for the rest of the period.
 
This leads one to wonder how much physical education is actually being taught. This is school, right?
 
And what about those home economics classes our parents took? Should we bring them back?
 
Definitely — at both the primary school and college level.
 
A cooking class provides both knowledge of food and teaches students kitchen skills on how to prepare meals for themselves. Knowing how to cook meals that use quality ingredients, and being able to find those ingredients, is not an easy task. They are usually available, but we tend to get distracted by less nutritious — and more advertised — processed foods on our journey through the aisles.
 
An excerpt from a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Alice Lichtenstein and David Ludwig easily explains why learning home economics is important to reducing the obesity problem we currently face:
 
“As children transition into young adulthood, they should be provided with knowledge to harness modern conveniences (e.g., prewashed salad greens) and avoid pit-falls in the marketplace (e.g., prepared foods with a high ratio of calories to nutrients) to prepare meals that are quick, nutritious and tasty.”
 
The more you are informed about food and nutrition, the more likely you are going to select better options when eating. Knowing the basics is important, but with confusing health claims on food labels and new fad diets constantly coming out, fueling your body properly has become increasingly difficult.
 
Louisiana can get out of the bottom bracket. It’s simple.
 
Get in the kitchen, put on an apron and get your Iron Chef on — but be nutrition conscious.
 
Michael Sandoz is a 27-year-old nutritional sciences junior from Mandeville. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_MSandoz.
 
 
 
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Contact Michael Sandoz at [email protected]