BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
The American Heart Association put hundreds of children up to the challenge to change their lifestyles today at the "Go Healthy Challenge" at the Mall at Cortana.
Louisiana ranks #4 in childhood obesity and Heart Walk Director, Cary Lowrey, said it is because of a lack of education about healthy living.
"A lot of children are not aware that physical activity," Lowrey said, "The amount of physical activity they need to be doing. The kinds of food they need to be eating."
The challenge taught about 500 kids about portion control and how to read nutrition labels. Some LSU athletes stopped by to teach the children great ways to stay fit.
Edith Johnson brought her grandson, Gawain, because she wants him to learn how important it is to eat well and step away from the TV everyone once in a while. Johnson said the challenge has confirmed everything she has been trying to teach him.
"I've learned about the nutritional part of what he should eat," Johnson said, "That's exactly what I'm trying to get him to do. To leave the pops and drink more water and eat more vegetables."
Challenge organizers hope to send today's youth home ready to motivate their families to eat better and be more active. For Gawain, Johnson said she knows he will stick to this new way of living.
"I think he will because I'm gonna be on him," Johnson said.
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