State representative seeking to shrink district

• By MARK H. HUNTER
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Mar 30, 2008 - UPDATED: 03.30.08

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State Rep. Regina Ashford Barrow wants to reduce the size of her legislative district but not geographically, only physically.

The Baton Rouge Democrat, represents 40,000 residents in House District 29, which encompasses most of north Baton Rouge, including the Glen Oaks and Zion City neighborhoods as well as part of the Port Allen area.

But Barrow recently underwent a health screening that showed she is seriously overweight and her blood glucose and cholesterol levels are approaching unhealthy levels.

On Saturday, she began a vigorous weight-loss program at the S.E. Mackey Center with about two dozen of her constituents and is challenging the rest of the district’s residents to join her.

Barrow said she wants to lose at least 29 pounds in the next six months, and she’d like to see residents of her district lose at least 2,900 pounds collectively. Whoever among them is the “biggest loser” in the “29 Losers 2,900” contest, she said, would win a cruise and the next two runners-up would win memberships at the Mackey Center and Spectrum Fitness Center.

“I was floored when I read the report,” Barrow said. “I have pushed the boundaries of everything! I weigh more now than I did when I was pregnant. I have to lose some weight!”

Two of Barrow’s supporters, Robert and Rose Ball, were weighed in at the Mackey Center’s front desk by facility director Robert Allmon and given brochures explaining healthy blood glucose and cholesterol levels.  The Balls said they take regular walks and neither was overweight, they just wanted to participate in more exercises with their friends.

“This is one of the things we can do together in the district — shed some pounds,” Robert Ball said.

“The thing is, to get healthier and get both our blood pressure and cholesterol levels down,” Rose Ball added. “There are a lot of elderly people in this district and if we can get some of them involved — it would be good.”

Barrow agreed, adding, “obesity is a big issue in this state, especially among our children.” In fact, she said, there will be a bill introduced in the 2008 session of the Legislature starting on Monday that would  require physical education be put back into school curriculums.

Barrow said she’d like to see more people get involved in this weight-loss program, “so we can meet people we don’t know and lose weight together.”

Fitness instructor Allmon said he estimates about 30 percent of the men in House District 29 are overweight and about 40 percent of the women are as well. “It’s not too bad, but the district (as a whole) is big enough.”

Allmon, who manages the 22,000-square-foot center that is part of the nearby United Pentecostal Church, showed Barrow and her friends the variety of equipment on hand to help them exercise and then ran them through an introductory session of stretching and workouts on treadmills and weightlifting machines.