Louisiana health leaders plan to create a new nutrition office at LDH

State lawmakers have advanced a bill that would create a new Office of Health and Nutrition within the Louisiana Department of Health, part of a larger push to focus on diet and exercise to move the needle on the state’s poor health metrics.

The proposal, Senate Bill 219 by state Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, cleared the Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday without objection.

The bill would create a new office under the supervision of the health secretary and headed by an executive director, with the authority to coordinate programs already in place in the department.

“We have never reconciled the cause and effect of our food policy with our chronic disease prevention and treatment policy,” said LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein. “To bring what was once buried in bureaucracy to the surface to really put the focus on it — that’s what this is about.”

The office will coordinate efforts related to nutrition, health care access, prevention of chronic diseases and physical fitness, reflecting a broad shift towards prevention-focused health policy that aligns with the movement “Make America Healthy Again” championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in President Donald Trump’s administration.

It includes the Bureau of Chronic Disease and Public Health Access and the Bureau of Nutrition Services, which oversees initiatives related to diabetes prevention and management, oral health, asthma control, cardiovascular disease, tobacco cessation, healthy aging and school-based health environments.

The bill would also move the state’s “Well Spot” designation program, which recognizes workplaces and community spaces that meet health benchmarks, to the new office.

The Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, or WIC, will move into office, along with the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, a 15-member group of health professionals whose goal is to increase physical activity.

State health officials who testified Wednesday said the plan doesn’t create new costs but allows them to shift funding and staff.

Louisiana continues to face some of the highest rates of chronic disease in the nation, ranking 4th among states. Lawmakers cited high rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes as major drivers of health care costs and poor outcomes.

Linking diet and brain health

Lawmakers also added an amendment linking the new office’s work to Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, requiring coordination with other state offices to reduce the risk.

Advocates and researchers told lawmakers that diet, exercise and chronic disease management play a big role in the risk of degenerative brain diseases in later life. Addressing them can help Louisianans live a better quality of life for longer.

“We’re not talking about forcing someone to get on a treadmill for three hours a day and eat tofu for every meal,” says Owen Carmichael, a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “You’re going to a good place with your diet by sitting down to a plate of Louisiana-grown brown rice, Louisiana-raised grilled shrimp and some Louisiana-raised satsumas. This is really attainable for seniors in our country.”