ENROLLED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 44
BY REPRESENTATIVE DUPLESSIS
A RESOLUTION
To commend Dr. Melinda Sothern, the Scientists for Translational Research in Youth
research group, and the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New
Orleans, School of Public Health for outreach, education, and research related to
fighting obesity in adolescent, infant, and adult populations throughout Louisiana.
WHEREAS, the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center, New
Orleans, School of Public Health, established in 2003, provides a multitude of public health-
related services to the population of Louisiana, including education, community outreach,
collaboration, and research; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Melinda Sothern, professor and Jim Finks Endowed Chair in Health
Promotion at the LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, School of Public Health has
devoted the last three decades of her professional career to advancing research into the
causes, patterns, and behaviors associated with obesity, particularly childhood obesity; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana currently ranks fourth in highest prevalence of childhood
obesity and sixth in prevalence of adult obesity; obesity is considered a chronic disease that
is associated with reduced duration and quality of life, poor mental health, increased
healthcare costs, loss of productivity, and increased risk for several leading causes of death,
including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Sothern, the Scientists for Translational Research in Youth
(STORY) research group, and the School of Public Health work collaboratively on multiple
programs that help to better understand the social determinates of obesity while also
providing outreach activities to help reduce the obesity rate throughout Louisiana; these
programs, studies, and outreach activities include the Healthy Together Family Nutrition and
Exercise Program, Molecular and Social Determinants of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders
in Developing Youth, and the Handbook of Pediatric Obesity: Clinical Management; and
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WHEREAS, Dr. Sothern's activities have had direct results in improving the health
of Louisiana's population through nutrition education and counseling, family cooking classes
and instruction, exercise and fitness classes sponsored by LSU Health Sciences Center, New
Orleans, and a greater understanding of the causes and risk elements associated with obesity.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Dr. Melinda Sothern, the STORY research
group, and the LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, School of Public Health for
outreach, education, and research related to fighting obesity in adolescent, infant, and adult
populations throughout Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Dr. Larry Hollier, chancellor of LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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