Act 256 Report Now Available

At a time when more than one-third of children ages 10-17 are overweight or obese, childhood obesity is not only a problem; it is a crisis that must be addressed with high-quality data and research-proven interventions. To address childhood obesity, Act No. 256 of the 2009 Louisiana legislative session calls for health-related physical fitness assessments of students in schools.

The Act 256 initiative is a collaboration among the follow agencies:  The Picard Center for Child Development and Lifelong Learning, Louisiana Department of Education, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and Louisiana Council on Obesity Prevention and Management.

In short, these collaborators are focused on implementing a physical fitness assessment in as many Louisiana schools as possible, determining effective interventions, and deriving a better understanding of the consequences of childhood obesity.

Click here to see the first report, released September 1, 2009, from the partners of the Act 256 initiative. The report includes findings from the 2008-09 Fitnessgram administration in Louisiana, next steps and recommendations.