Improving Health Behaviors Through Community Engagement: Challenge for a Healthier Louisiana

Abstract

There is increasing recognition that community-based approaches may have merit in improving physical activity and healthy eating behaviors. The “Challenge for a Healthier Louisiana” program supported twelve projects that addressed the root causes of obesity through integrated community-level changes. Partnerships provided community-based obesity prevention by promoting healthier eating and/or physical activity through enhanced infrastructure, policy changes, and programming. To evaluate whether the program resulted in changes in healthy eating and/or physical activity among adults, surveys were conducted pre- and postintervention among participants. Participants who were exposed to physical activity programs were more likely to adopt the consumption of fruits (odds ratio = 2.0; 95% confidence interval [1.1, 3.6]), were more likely to eat vegetables once per day (p =.028), and were more likely to participate in physical activity (p =.053). Participants who were exposed to healthy eating programs were more likely to eat fruit once per day (p =.035), were more likely to eat vegetables at least once per day (p =.008), and were more likely to participate in physical activity (p =.018). In conclusion, there is some indication that the Challenge for a Healthier Louisiana program produced changes in health behaviors among program participants; however, the sustainability of these changes will require further evaluation.