Ag Center experts help parents, workers face public health challenges

Fatemeh Malekian, food science and nutrition expert, demonstrates portion and choice tips crucial to preventing childhood obesity.

Louisiana families and child care workers were given ammunition to meet growing public health challenges during the Southern University Ag Center Public Health Conference held in early April. The Ag Center's Family and Human Development Office, in collaboration with the Department of Social Services/Office of Family Support, and the Kellogg Foundation, sponsored the event for parent educators, child care workers, public health workers, and Louisiana Public Broadcasting's "Ready to Learn" program.

The nearly 100 participants were versed on preparing for new and emerging diseases, tobacco-free living, childhood obesity prevention, and emergency preparedness for childcare providers.

The center's food science and health specialists offered tips on how to engage residents in community-based projects to combat emerging infectious disease. Janet Gager, food scientist, Divya Jaroni, assistant professor, food microbiology, and Shantell Smith-Jones, assistant health specialist, explained that through this engagement, underserved and disenfranchised communities can improve their preparedness to emerging infectious diseases and public health risks like Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or antibiotic resistant Staph infections.

Mario Johnson and Linda Early Brown are helping to coordinate the "Communities of Color/Tobacco-Free Living" efforts in this region.

The "Communities of Color/Tobacco-Free Living" southern regional state coordinator Linda Early Brown and regional coordinator Mario Johnson invited participants to join a collaborative effort to address tobacco disparities in Louisiana. The collaboration will use grassroots networks to develop a marketing campaign that engages, educates, and increases awareness of tobacco-use issues among specific social and ethnic groups.

The "Colorful Foods for Better Health: Ideas for Preventing Obesity" session provided participants with current information on adult and childhood obesity in Louisiana and how it has emerged as one of the state's greatest public health challenges. Fatemeh Malekian, associate professor, food science and nutrition, emphasized how poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles have contributed to Louisiana's higher obesity ranking among other states over the last three years.

Near the conclusion of the workshop, Kasundra Cyrus, specialist, family and human development, and Karen Stevens, child care provider trainer, presented tools needed to establish an 'all-hazards' emergency preparedness plan for child care centers and employees.

"It is also the intent of this session to increase the understanding of Office of Public Health Child Care Health Consultants' responsibility for emergency preparedness by providing experiential training materials on all-hazard disasters," Cyrus said.

This event is one of several trainings provided at the Ag Center for child care providers, parents, and public health agencies.