Bookmark & Share

Favorites	Google
Digg	Del.icio.us
Twitter	Facebook

>> More...

Louisiana-based Ochsner Health System has collaborated with a local grocery chain on an initiative aimed at promoting health and wellness education, HealthLeaders Media reports. The Choose Healthy program teams the nonprofit health system with the supermarket chain Rouses. The effort seeks to educate people about nutritious food and healthy lifestyles, disease prevention, and regular medical screenings and checkups. Customers will have access to Ochsner education materials, as well as to free health screenings, including blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and body fat. In addition, the Choose Healthy Web site includes “information on smart food choices, proper meal planning and disease- specific diet alternatives.” The site also allows visitors to create a grocery list consisting of healthy food choices that are available for purchase at Rouses stores. Choose Healthy also encourages the purchase of locally grown and produced foods, such as fresh local vegetables and seafood, which can help residents eat healthier foods and support the local economy, according to HealthLeaders. In addition, the store’s “Chef Nino” will be incorporating lighter and heart-healthy recipes into his cooking demonstrations. Ochsner CEO, Patrick Quinlan, M.D., notes that “unless we get to where people actually buy their groceries, our success rate [in addressing obesity] is going to be pretty low,” adding that “right now they don’t know what to do—and they don’t have the time to do it. We need to solve those problems for them.” (Simmons, Health Leaders, 9/28/09).