Blue Cross and Pennington Join Forces to Fight Obesity

Statewide Public Health Campaign Urges Louisianians to Eat Right and Move More

January 14, 2007

Contact:

John Maginnis 225.295.2405

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center today announced the launch of the Louisiana 2 Step, a statewide public health campaign using advertising and public relations messages to encourage Louisiana residents to take two small daily steps toward better health.

The state's largest health insurer and the Baton Rouge-based, world-class research center have joined forces to fight obesity, one of the leading causes of preventable illness in our state. Both companies have strong stakes in this battle: Blue Cross insures one out of every four Louisianians, while the Pennington Center's research programs focus on nutrition and health-related areas including Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, and Health and Performance Enhancement.

"Both Blue Cross and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center have an enormous amount of data on the devastating health effects of obesity and physical inactivity," said Gery J. Barry, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. "It's part of our mission as a health care company to help educate and motivate Louisianians to address these problems and improve their health long-term."

The Louisiana 2 Step campaign urges participants to take just two daily steps toward better health: eat right and move more. Television and radio advertisements, print ads, outdoor billboards and a website at www.Louisiana2Step.com encourage every citizen to "Do the 2" in his or her own way. "The ads use an understated, humorous approach to get the message across," Barry said. "The idea is that each of us can make small but crucial daily choices to eat a little better and get a little more exercise."

The burden of obesity hits our state hard:

• Louisiana ranks 4th in adult obesity in the nation.
• Being overweight and/or obese substantially increases the risk of hypertension, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and various cancers.
• Obesity-related diseases account for nearly half of Louisiana's health care budget.
• Almost 1 in 3 Louisiana school-aged children is overweight or obese.

Recent research has shown that small lifestyle changes can add up to better health and lowered risk for obesity-related diseases. For example, eating five or more servings of fruits or vegetables per day can help prevent heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions. Yet in 2000, 85 percent of Louisianians reported that they did not consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

The statewide Louisiana 2 Step campaign is designed to send Louisianians to a website, www.Louisiana2Step.com, where they can set personal goals and choose a virtual health coach to help motivate and encourage them. The site includes a wide variety of interactive educational and motivational tools to inspire visitors to make healthier lifestyle choices and to give them ideas on how to achieve those goals.

"We want to make sure people know that physical activity and healthful eating can be fun," said Barry. "It doesn't have to be drudgery just to add a little extra movement to your daily routine, or to reduce your intake of fat and calories."

About Blue Cross
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is Louisiana-owned and -operated. Marking its 73rd anniversary this year, the company is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It is a tax-paying mutual company, owned by its policyholders. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana also has district offices in Alexandria, Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans and Shreveport. The company's subsidiaries include HMO Louisiana, Inc. and Southern National Life Insurance Company, Inc. For more information, visit www.bcbsla.com.

About the Pennington Center
Opened in 1988, the Pennington Center now houses 14 research laboratories, 17 core service laboratories, inpatient and outpatient clinics, a research kitchen, an administrative area and more than $20 million in technologically advanced equipment.

The Center was expanded in 1993 to include the C.B. Pennington Jr. Conference Center, residence apartments, and an exercise and fitness facility. More than 70 faculty members and over 600 physicians, scientists, and support personnel focus their research efforts on six key areas: Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, Experimental Obesity, Functional Foods, Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, Health and Performance Enhancement, and Nutrition and the Brain. For more information, visit www.pbrc.edu.